BadgeQuest: The Big Goodbye
by Cyberwraith9
Summary: The final battle of BadgeQuest: Season Two. Will this truly be the final farewell to Ash and Company? [Complete]
1. Farewell

=Author's Note=  
  
        Hi, all! I decided to do this story a little different than the others, seeing as how none of you seem to want to wait the three to four months it takes me to complete one of my gi-normous stories. So, we'll be updating in little chunks, at least for this story. If you like it better this way, make sure to let me know!  
  
=Legal Disclaimer=  
  
        Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo Entertainment Inc., or whatever it is they're calling their company. As a big business, they are inherently evil, but fair is fair, so I'm not allowed to make money using their characters. As such, those of you who would like to purchase any Dixie merchandise or memorabilia are welcome to send random amounts of money to:  
  
        Cyberwraith T. Nine  
  
        666 Spooky Road  
  
        Ghostland, TX 00666  
  
BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 1=  
  
Catching Up With Old Friends  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The coarse rock face crumbled beneath fingers that were once soft and delicate as she scrabbled her way up the side of a cliff she had never seen before, and probably wouldn't see again once she left. Tiny pieces of the mountain fell into her eyes, bringing stinging tears to both clean and cloud her vision. She paused a moment to let her eyes blink the refuse out. After all, when she was suspended three hundred meters above the ground, she wanted to make sure she was good and secure and one hundred percent on the ball.  
  
A year ago, had someone told her that she could climb mountains, she would have laughed at them before returning to her fashion magazine. However, it had been an enlightening year for her; not only could she climb mountains, she could jump from an airliner with nothing but an emergency chute, fight off a hoard of hungry Onix, freestyle down a triple black diamond slope on a makeshift board, and ignore the nails that she broke while doing so. Never, in her entire life, had she thought herself capable of such incredible, demeaning physical acts. After all, servants were meant for such things…hired muscle, goons, and the rest of the ilk her parents weren't fond of employing. But she had a powerful driving force that kept her going on the longest, coldest of nights…  
  
She was the one.  
  
Not him.  
  
Her.  
  
"You need to turn back, child…" A voice hissed from all around her, echoing off of the twilight-lit canyon she was in the process of scaling. The spectacular light show that nature was putting on set the entire valley on fire. It was a pity she couldn't stop to enjoy it.  
  
"Not on your life, Missingno," Giselle hissed, gaining another hand-hold and hauling herself higher. The top of the cliff was just a few meters away, and she wasn't about to let the creature get away again. She had come too far, worked too hard to let that bag of gas slip through her fingers. He had managed to dodge her a half a dozen times over the past twelve months. She had watched him suck entire villages dry, dropping people faster than she could count. He had taken down entire farms of livestock, farmhands and all, in the blink of an eye. But tonight, it was over. "Tonight," she promised the monster, "You're mine!"  
  
"So you say," Missingno's hideous tone hissed from all around her, murmuring sweet nothings of death and torture into her ear, "But you've said that before, haven't you? Remember that family you said you'd protect? The one I devoured before you could even scream in horror?"  
  
"Shut up," she growled, finding another hold.  
  
"You were unconscious for nearly an hour. And do you know what I did?"  
  
"I said shut up…"  
  
"Absolutely nothing," the demon cackled gleefully. I watched you as you slept. I whispered into your dreams…but you remained unscathed. And do you know why?"  
  
"STOP IT!"  
  
"Because I knew it would be absolute torture," Missingno murmured, "To have lived to see those hollow, empty shells."  
  
Giselle's hand finally found its way to the top of the cliff, scrabbling for a firm hold among the jagged rocks. "I swear to you, monster," she snarled, "I'll destroy you myself if I have to." With another grunt, she was on top of the cliff, high above the valleys and mountainous channels that ran near the sea just south of Pallet Town. She pulled a pair of Pokéballs from her pocket, expanding them to full size. She may not have collected the complete set yet, but two elemental titans were far better than none. "Get ready, Zapdos, Moltres…" she murmured.  
  
Missingno's cackling laughter echoed all around her as the last rays of the sun slipped down below the rocky peaks. "Those two again?" he sneered, "Didn't you learn your lesson back at Cinnabar Island?"  
  
Despite her earlier bravado, Giselle could feel a modicum of fear creeping into her; she had fought Missingno long enough to know that he was strongest when it was dark. Already, the top of her lonely cliff had grown cold without the radiant touch of the sun, and a dense fog had begun to seep in around her feet, rising slowly as she searched about. "This time will be different, Missingno."  
  
"I agree," Missingno's ominous voice replied cheerily. "This time, you won't be getting away."  
  
"That's my line." Giselle's eyes darted about, searching for the familiar wisp of black smoke that signaled the demon's approach, but there was no sign of him. The fog had grown too thick to see anything, and even the rising moon's circle of light was beginning to fade. "Where are you?"  
  
"Right here."  
  
The fog suddenly took on a life of its own, wrapping around her. She could feel the darkness pressing in on her from all sides, immobilizing her in a cold, perverse embrace. The fog entered her through every orifice, every pore in her body, seeping into her and tainting her soul. Giselle screamed, but the fog moved to choke her, forcing its way inside of her. Just as her consciousness was slipping away, as the demon began devouring everything that she was, she heard a tiny murmur enter her mind;  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
=To Be Continued= 


	2. So Long

=Author's Notes=  
  
As the observant fan may note, this is not a new chapter. I discovered that, while claiming to try and upload in a new fashion, I was, in fact, doing the same old thing; namely, working forever on a large update. So I'll endeavor to get more out to you as it comes, and see if you like it better. Don't get too used to it, though; I'm a man, not a machine. Don't you understand? *sob* DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?  
  
…  
  
Well, enjoy!  
  
BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 2=  
  
In Transit  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"To Miss Mason: In response to your message yesterday…"  
  
Ash tiptoed quietly down the aisle. Had he been thinking clearly, he would have saved his efforts; the clattering of the train's wheels against the steel bars of the track was more than enough to mask his approach. His concern, however, was overwhelming his common sense…which was woefully inadequate to begin with; between Misty's injuries and Dixie's sudden moodiness, he wasn't sure which direction to go in first.  
  
One of the objects of his worry sat several rows away in the relatively empty passenger car, her features illuminated in the dark seat by the holographic image of a brown-haired young man. Dixie's eyes were transfixed on his as he fidgeted nervously in the camera's field.  
  
"I…uh…" Ritchie continued nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "I don't know quite how to say this, but…Well, let me start from the beginning. About a year ago, I suffered from some kind of trauma. At least, I think I did. The doctors say that something happened to me, and…well, heck, they seem like nice people, and I can't really argue with them. Y'see, I…I lost my memory. I don't remember how I lost it, but…" he paused, smiling briefly. "Hey, that's kind of funny." His features immediately sobered as he remembered what it was he was doing. "Sorry. Anyway, the doctors helped me look into it, and apparently you and I knew each other from before. They seem to think that something that might be familiar would help the recovery process along, so…I'd like for us to get together, just like you said in your message."  
  
***  
  
"Any idea what they're listening to?" Jessie hissed, pushing her long red hair from her eyes. She leaned over the back of the next seat, straining to catch a glimpse of the hologram that floated in front of Dixie half a car away.  
  
Sitting next to her, James shook his head and leaned back. "Nothing." He sighed, letting his head rest against the back of his seat and closed his eyes. "This would be a lot easier if we hadn't lost our equipment back at the airport."  
  
The duffle bag sitting next to his feet shifted and began hissing. "It would'a been even betta if you hadn't lost all'a our money, either!" the bag chastised him. "Maybe den we would'a been able ta afford-"  
  
"Be quiet, Meowth!" Jessie hissed angrily, giving the bag a jab with her black boot. They were disguised in civilian clothing to avoid unwanted attention, but it wouldn't take much for Ash to recognize them, and a talking bag was bound to turn more than one head. "You know we aren't supposed to have pets in the passenger cars, so shut up before the conductor hears you!"  
  
"Pets!" Meowth cried indignantly, his voice thankfully muffled by the layer of cloth that held him captive. "Suddenly I'm a pet? Who's the brains of this outfit, any-YOW!" Another swift boot silenced him, and he grudgingly remained silent, plotting his revenge for whomever was foolish enough to unzip the bag.  
  
As Jessie returned to her surveillance, James piped in once more, his eyes still closed in thought. "You know, Jess, I've been thinking…"  
  
"A newsworthy event if I ever heard one," Jessie muttered.  
  
He seemed hurt at the dig. "I'm serious. I've just been wondering if you've noticed just how different life has gotten."  
  
She looked over at him, puzzled at the sudden, unexpected topic. "Like how?"  
  
"Well, just look." He sat up, gesturing to their two targets sitting in the front of the car. "For the past two years, we've been running helter-skelter around the globe chasing after that brat. We've been going to places whose name I can't even pronounce, helping people who should be locked up in mental wards to kill a sixteen year old and his dopey little friends…We've even fought against monsters!"  
  
"I'm assuming there's a point here, somewhere." Jessie intoned dully.  
  
"You ever remember when life was a little simpler?" James asked. To Jessie's surprise, his voice was thoughtful and clear, not its usual whining or idiotic rambling. "You know, when we would just run about the island, searching for trouble and trying to nab that Pikachu? When the only thing we had to worry about was being caught by Officer Jenny, or screwing up some piddly heist for the boss?" He sighed wistfully, resting his chin upon his palm. "I miss that."  
  
Jessie felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she remembered the good old days, filled with adventure, nonsense, and a healthy dose of "blasting off again"… "You're right, James," she agreed. Then she snorted, suddenly amused. "Huh. Never thought I'd say those three words in a row."  
  
James quickly changed the subject, not wanting to start another argument (which he would probably lose anyway). "So," he leaned forward again, watching the pair, "We're just supposed to keep an eye on them for now?"  
  
Jessie nodded. "At least until something comes up."  
  
"Let's hope nothing does. I've had enough excitement for a while, thank you very much."  
  
***  
  
  
  
"I'm going to be transferred to a man named Sam Oak…he's another person from my past, and I guess he was generous enough to offer his help with the whole recovery thing too. The Professor tells me that you and some other friends of mine are on the way back to the Island. I can't wait until-"  
  
  
  
Dixie pressed a button on Gear's panel, cutting the recording off. The floating hologram flickered and snapped out of existence as she sensed another person approaching. "Hi." She murmured dully, not turning around. Her eyes instead found their way to the window, flashing as the train passed intermittent lights on its journey to Kanto. "What's going on?"  
  
  
  
"Spotted Jessie and James sitting a few seats back," Ash chucked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the Rockets in disguise. "I don't think they'll be causing us any trouble on this trip, but we'd better keep an eye on them just in case." After a moment's hesitation, he sat down next to her. His hands fidgeted awkwardly in his lap, unsure of what to do as he tried to talk to her. "Um…you okay?"  
  
  
  
"That's a stupid question." Her voice was flat and cold, and she still refused to look at him. A couple of tears dripped from her cherubic cheeks, cluing Ash in to her mood. "How do you think I'm doing?"  
  
  
  
He groaned in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm just not sure why you're taking this out on-"  
  
  
  
"How could you not tell me any of this?"  
  
  
  
The question had come so suddenly that it froze Ash in mid-sentence. He slowly lowered his hand from his face, staring at her. She continued to look out of the window, but her hands were visibly shaking. "How could I not tell you any of what?" he demanded. "I didn't know you knew Ritchie! How could I have-"  
  
  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
  
  
He sighed again, this time exasperatedly. "Well excuse me, but I didn't think there was a particularly good time to mention the fact that a three thousand year old story had singled me out as the defender of all reality. You think this is easy for me to deal with?"  
  
  
  
"We're supposed to be a team, Ash." Dixie informed him, her voice sharp and still frosty cold. "We work together. That's what a relationship is all about." There was a pause, as if she was considering something before she added, "I bet you would have told Misty right away."  
  
  
  
"Huh? Is that was this is about?" Ash couldn't believe it; all this was about a childish case of jealousy? "Look, the only reason Misty and Brock knew is because we were all standing knee-deep in the middle of the first demon! It isn't like I was trying to leave you out of the loop. And as for Misty-"  
  
  
  
"You've been awfully devoted to her lately…" Dixie's voice had returned to a hoarse whisper. Her hands, which had shook with anger, now laid askew on the seat with a sense of failure.  
  
  
  
"She was hit by a rockslide, I…Look," he jabbed his finger at her, suddenly feeling a spike of anger rising in him. "There is nothing going on like that between Misty and me! She's like my sister, that's all-"  
  
  
  
"Brock said you used to date."  
  
  
  
"Oh." Ash gulped. He had been hoping to hide that little fact from Dix this whole time, to avoid such conversations as these. Now it appeared he was reaping the rewards of his silence. "Look, that was a long time ago, and-"  
  
  
  
"And you've hardly left her side in the past three days." Ash had nothing to say to this. "Look, I just want to be alone for a little while, okay?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah. Okay." Ash cleared his throat, rising to the aisle. "I'll just go in the back and check on Brock and-"  
  
  
  
"Misty?"  
  
  
  
"…I was going to say Pikachu, but…" He sighed. "Never mind. I'll see you in a little while.  
  
  
  
He stalked back down the rows of seats, casting Team Rocket a knowing glance while they hid behind magazines. He moved from one car to the next, entering the private sleeper car that they had reserved. Inside was a pair of bunks built into the wall, one stacked on top of the other in an alcove fashion. A couch sat opposite the bed cubbies, currently occupied by a pair of slumbering familiars. Ash tossed Brock and Pikachu a bemused grin before turning to where Misty was supposedly lying down.  
  
  
  
"Hey," Misty greeted him, sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk. She had just finished lacing her second boot up, tugging at her striped tube sock. "You look pretty glum."  
  
  
  
"How are you feeling?" Ash asked, unconsciously putting his hands on his hips in a none-too-shabby imitation of his own mother. His tone, however, had nothing but concern; despite the doctors' best efforts, they had been unable to convince the fiery dynamo to stick around and finish her regeneration treatments. Little had they known that when Misty thought something more important was at stake (namely, the return of the Hidden Machines, as well as the Demon Ball, to Pallet Town), there was nothing, short of an Act of God, that could stop her.  
  
  
  
"Pretty annoyed that you keep asking me that." She snapped, standing up and meeting his reproving glare with one of her own. "I'm fine."  
  
  
  
"No, you're not." He jabbed a finger at the bandages still wrapped around her forehead, her legs, and the unseen tape that held her still-tender ribs together. "The doctors said you need rest, or the regeneration treatments won't hold like they're supposed to."  
  
  
  
"Thanks Mom, but I think I can take care of myself." Waving him off, she pushed him aside to leave the car. At the last second, her sharp eyes caught sight of his sour expression. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
  
  
"It's just…" he started, but one look at her deflated his repressed anger. She was covered in injuries that would never have happened if it weren't for him. Why should he dump any more of his problems on her? "Nothing." He parked himself in her former seat on the bed's edge, cupping his chin with his hands.  
  
  
  
"Looks like a lot of nothing, if you ask me." She closed the door and sat down next to him, throwing a comforting arm around his shoulder. It was uncanny, how a simple gesture from her could make him feel so much better. He allowed himself to lean into her embrace, drawing closer to her. Her hair, which was still black from their deception back in Snowfort, brushed gently against his face. It was oddly soothing, and tickled his nose. "C'mon, just because you're taller than me doesn't mean I'm not still smarter. Tell your big sister Misty all about it, huh?"  
  
  
  
"You aren't going to get over the fact that I'm taller than you now, are you?" he smiled at her. Even with the dark hair, with the bandages wrapped around her face, she was still the Misty he had always known. However, the recent differences in her appearance only served to remind him of just how much had happened to her in the past week alone, and that he was entirely responsible for it.  
  
  
  
"It only proves my theory that the universe is a cold, cruel, unfair realm of irony." Misty retorted, drawing him out of his inner revere.  
  
  
  
He snorted. "You can say that again." A questioning look from her prompted him to continue. "Misty, I'm just not sure about the last couple of days…So much has changed, and-"  
  
  
  
"You're not sure you can handle it?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah." He nodded glumly. "I mean, when we squared off against Missingno, none of us were sure if I was really the one to take on all of these-"  
  
  
  
"Creepy blasts from the past-"  
  
  
  
"And now that they're starting to come out of the woodwork again, I-"  
  
  
  
"Can't help but wonder when the next one will come along, or if you'll be ready." Misty finished. She shook her head, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Ash, this whole 'Chosen One' thing is weirder than anything we've ever faced before. Usually whenever we face something, we know why it's after us, or why it wants to destroy the world. But these things-"  
  
  
  
"Only want to destroy for the sake of destruction." He agreed, "I know, I know. It just doesn't make any sense. Where did they come from, and-"  
  
  
  
"Who created them?" She grunted. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone about it. Maybe Professor Oak-"  
  
  
  
But Ash suddenly snorted, standing up and abandoning her embrace. "Talking? I've had enough talking about it!" he shot, folding his arms as he pouted.  
  
  
  
"Let me guess; Dixie."  
  
  
  
"Kinda." He admitted. "But this whole thing isn't fair!"  
  
  
  
"Life isn't fair, Ash."  
  
  
  
The words that every child had heard from every parent since the dawn of time; Life isn't fair. He had never accepted those words before, and he wasn't about to start then, either. "Maybe I'll just make it fair, then."  
  
  
  
Misty stopped for a moment, blinking slowly. The silence became so uncomfortable that Ash's anger transformed itself into nervous anticipation. "You always do this, you know. Even since we were kids…"  
  
  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
  
  
She folded her arms, leaning against the door in a forced-casual manner. Her face was sober and unreadable, but Ash could sense a deep concern welling up in her. "Whenever something happens that you don't think is right, you try and…and change it."  
  
  
  
He was thoroughly confused now. "Huh?"  
  
  
  
"Oh…Never mind!" she hissed. "I'm going to go get something to eat. And don't even say it!" she added as his mouth opened in protest. She was out the door before he could get a word in edgewise, slamming the door with such force that it left a ringing in his ears.  
  
  
  
"Jeez, she's upset about something."  
  
  
  
Ash jumped about a foot into the air as Brock's voice cut through the tone trapped in his ears. "I thought you were asleep!" Ash yelped.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I do that a lot when you guys are fighting," Brock nodded, now fully alert. Misty's loud outburst had woken Pikachu as well, who lowered itself to the floor and began ambling towards Ash. "It's a little trick that's served me well through the years. 'Course," he added with an indiscernible wink, "I also did it when you guys used to neck by the campfire when you thought no one was around."  
  
  
  
Red crept furiously into Ash's cheeks at the jibe. "That was years ago, Brock. Give it a rest."  
  
  
  
"Doesn't seem so far off to me," Brock commented. He stretched, popping several of his vertebrae into more comfortable positions as he stood. "You two used to fight like this all the time before you finally admitted you liked each other."  
  
  
  
Ash sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose once again. It was a frustrated tic that was occurring a lot more often lately. "We're not children anymore, Brock. Those days are behind us."  
  
  
  
"She's right, you know."  
  
  
  
"Eh?" It was the last thing Ash had expected to come out of Brock's mouth. Rarely did either one of them find themselves agreeing with Misty, especially when she was being her obnoxious, vocal, stubborn self. "About what?"  
  
  
  
"You." Brock smirked, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "I never really noticed it, but I'm guessing she did. Smart girl. Or maybe she's just had a careful eye on you lately…"  
  
  
  
"What are you blathering on about?" Ash demanded. He was in no mood for riddles and games. Pikachu simply looked up at its trainer, then back over at the enigmatic Master of Rock, totally confused. It was a sentiment that Ash shared with his Pokémon at the moment.  
  
  
  
"Wherever you go, and whatever you do," Brock explained with a smile, "You can't help but try and leave it just a little better than you found it. If something doesn't rub you the right way, you 'change' it."  
  
  
  
He could hardly believe his ears. Was that what Brock thought of him? Was that what Misty thought? "You're saying that I-"  
  
  
  
"Look, it isn't a bad thing…all the time." Brock cautioned him with upturned palms. "But when the situation involves you, well…you really get pigheaded about it."  
  
  
  
"Bottom-line it, Brock."  
  
  
  
Brock sat once more, resting his hands upon his knees. "Look, Ash, in all seriousness; Destiny has chosen you for something important. This is fate of the world kind of stuff. I don't blame you for being afraid-"  
  
  
  
"I am NOT afraid!" Ash demanded childishly, thumping his chest. "We aren't afraid of anything, right Pikachu?"  
  
  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu intoned, standing on its hind legs and pumping its tiny fists.  
  
  
  
Brock continued as if Ash had never spoken, "But since this whole 'Goddess' thing came to a head at Mount Moon, you've been running from it. You ran to America, you ran back to your badges…you ran away, Ash."  
  
  
  
The young trainer's fists began shaking with fury, clenched at his sides. If it had been anyone but Brock to lecture him like this, he would have put those fists to use. "You have no idea what it's like, Brock." Ash spoke slowly, in a low, shaking voice. It was all he could do not to shout and holler at Brock with the full force of his righteous anger. "You've never gone toe-to-toe with anything like this. It isn't you, or Misty, or Dixie, or anyone else, is it? It's me!"  
  
  
  
"Ash-"  
  
  
  
"I'm always the one who deals with this!" Ash was on a roll. His vision began to blur with tears of anger, but he hadn't even noticed. His voice only grew steadily louder. "Mewtwo attacks, and it's me! Lawrence threatens an entire world, and it's me! Unown start crystallizing the planet, and it's me! Team Rocket tries and takes over…AND. IT'S. ME!"  
  
  
  
Brock stood and grabbed Ash by the shoulders, meeting him eye to eye. "Ash, calm down!"  
  
  
  
"I can't take much more of this, Brock…" Ash growled quietly. Memories began flooding through Ash's head, memories of Ritchie, of Misty, of his friends and loved ones and all the times they had fallen trying to protect him, trying to help 'him'. He pushed away from Brock's arms, taking several stumbling steps back. "All of this, it's…It's just too much."  
  
  
  
"Hey, come on…" Brock advanced forward, speaking as gently as he could. As the mother and father of a gaggle of younger siblings, he had dealt with a lot less. Still, he hadn't been expecting such an outburst of emotion from Ash. The young man…still a boy, Brock reminded himself…always seemed so strong and confident, so slow to anger. "Come on, knock it off," Brock said gently, reaching out to grasp Ash's shoulder. "Take a breather or something, okay? I mean, how would the girls take it if they saw you lose your cool?" Pikachu piped in its agreement, looking up from Ash's ankles.  
  
  
  
Ash sighed, laughing. The thought of the girls, along with his outburst, had helped to spend some of his unfocused anger. "Sometimes I think those girls are a lot tougher than me…" He walked towards the exit with Pikachu at his heel, but stopped at the door. "Thanks, Brock. You know, I'm really lucky to have you and Misty…"  
  
  
  
"Don't forget about Dixie." Brock smiled.  
  
  
  
That drew another small laugh from Ash. "God, yes. She's been handling it so well. I'll tell you, Brock, Misty is some girl."  
  
  
  
The slip nearly got past Brock. He blinked once, tilting his head. "What'd you say?"  
  
  
  
"I said that Dixie is some girl." Ash shook his head, smiling as he opened the door. "Jeez, Brock, get some sleep. Your hearing is going on you."  
  
  
  
"Huh…" Brock mused thoughtfully to the empty room after Ash had gone. "Guess so…"  
  
***  
  
"I need an IV drip stat!"  
  
  
  
The medical team rushed down the hall, a sterile blur of white and blue scrubs as they pushed through door after door of the Pallet Town emergency medical center. The gurney they pushed slammed its way through the well-oiled barriers, jostling its patient with each impact.  
  
A young med-tech held the patient's wrist, looking at his watch and dictating notes to another tech as they streaked past doctors, patients, and equipment. "Subject is female," the tech muttered as his compatriot copied it down onto a clipboard, "between the ages of fifteen and nineteen…minor lacerations to the epidermis…possible concussion. Pupils?"  
  
A third tech had just finished flashing a light in her impassive eyes. "Minimal response," he replied, letting her eyelid snap shut. "Any ID?"  
  
"Carrying a wallet containing identification." The clipboard tech said, already attaching the ID to her board. "Giselle Narcissa, born in Vermillion. Seventeen years old. We're trying to contact her parents, but nothing yet."  
  
"Trainer?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
The first tech snorted with disgust. "Why do they let these kids tromp around the blasted island so young?" he groused to no one in particular. "Get her Pokémon to the nearest Center, send an intern."  
  
"We're out of interns…"  
  
"-Then send the janitor!" the first tech snapped, "I can't have doctors and nurses running about when we have patients who-"  
  
"Oak…"  
  
"Hold!" the first tech snapped. The gurney came to a screeching halt so quickly that it left black marks halfway down the hall. "Did you two hear that?" His two partners nodded. He looked at the clipboard tech pointedly, tapping his watch. "Subject shows signs of regaining consciousness, ten-oh-two pm-"  
  
"Oak." Giselle muttered again, this time clearer and more insistent.   
  
"Giselle?" The first tech leaned down, his handsome features coming in to focus for the diva for the first time. "Giselle, I need you to lie down for me. We're going to make sure you're okay, so just-"  
  
Her body shot upward, sitting up so fast that their skulls cracked together. He had just enough time to swear before her hands wrapped around his scrubs, clinging so tightly her knuckles were white. She pulled their faces together, so that he could feel her hot, panicked breath rolling off of his face as he stared into her wild, sparking eyes.  
  
"The Oak Institute for Pokémon Research and Development!" she screamed. Then, as quickly as her consciousness had returned, it vanished. She toppled back onto the gurney, her grip on the tech growing limp.  
  
The tech was visibly shaken. "Get her into a unit. And someone call Professor Oak. NOW!"  
  
=To Be Continued= 


	3. Sayonara

BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 3=  
  
Family  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
  
  
The key that he had used so little in the past two years turned just as easily in the lock as it had the day he had received it, releasing the deadbolt and giving them access to the dark, cozy cottage home on Pallet Lane. Though it was still summer, and only nine o'clock, the dark clouds of the unseasonably long monsoon cast Ash's home town in deep shadows as he led his friends into his home. Pikachu took point, scouting ahead with its nose raised, taking in the scents of the house. Four teenagers followed the Pokémon, soaked to the bone and glad to be out of the rain.  
  
With tentative steps, Ash tiptoed across the creaking floorboards, shushing Dixie as she followed before she ever had the chance to make a sound. "Be as quiet as you can," he hissed.  
  
"Why?" she returned in the same level of voice, "Is your mom a light sleeper?"  
  
"No, she's probably upstairs reading." Ash shook his head, glancing around the shadows. The danger was out there, he knew it. But where…where was it hiding? Though his eyes were sharp, and his senses attuned, he could detect nothing save for the creaking of the floorboards as the house settled in against the raging monsoon outside. "But I don't want-"  
  
"MIME!"  
  
"Crap!" was all that Ash had the chance to exclaim before a blur of white and red came speeding down the banister and tackled him into the wall. His face shifted through several shades of blue as Mr. Mime wrapped him in a bone-breaking hug that made his ribcage creak and strain.  
  
"Mime, mister mis miiiiime!" Mimey shrieked with glee at their homecoming. Dixie was taken aback at first, but then squealed and began cooing and praising the Mr. Mime. She had never seen one before, what with the species being quite rare off-Island.  
  
"Somebody missed you," Misty snickered, elbowing Brock as they enjoyed the laugh at Ash's expense. Their laughter quickly turned to joy as they saw a pair of long, slender legs, clad in pajama pants knotted at the waist, descending the stairs. "Mrs. Ketchum!"  
  
"Ash, Misty, Brock!" Mrs. Ketchum threw out her arms and snagged Ash's oldest friends in a hug of her own, which they gladly returned. After shooing away Mr. Mime, she managed to catch her son in one as well, receiving a kiss on the cheek in return. "How was your…" she stopped, catching sight of a shy young blonde standing off to the side. "Oh my goodness…" her hand flew to her mouth, "Is this Dixie?"  
  
"It's a…a pleasure to meet y'all, ma'am." Dixie clasped her hands behind her back, staring down at the ground.  
  
Mrs. Ketchum's features sobered as she walked over, catching Dixie's chin with her finger and bringing her features to light. After a moment's examination, she shook her head. "Oh no, no, no, Ash…I'm afraid you were all wrong about her." Dixie's eyes went wide with horror, until the elder Ketchum added, "She's even more beautiful than you said she was!"  
  
Ash gave silent thanks to his mother as Delia gave Dixie a tremendous hug, laughing and giggling and telling her how wonderful it was to finally meet the girl that Ash had told her so much about. He knew he wasn't completely off the hook that easily, but his mother always knew how to ease the tension, no matter how bad the situation was. In retrospect, that was probably why he had chosen to come here first, rather than visit Professor Oak with their 'unique' cargo. Of course, the thunderous rainstorms weren't a bad reason, either.  
  
"Misty, dear," Delia suddenly turned, placing a hand to her mouth. "What on earth have you done to your hair?"  
  
***  
  
Ash sat alone, perched on the sofa in the downstairs living room in complete silence. Were it not for the dancing light of the television, he could have been mistaken for a statue. Light and shadow danced across his stony features as a newscaster softly broadcasted Island occurrences from his safe, warm studio far away in the heart of Viridian City.   
  
  
  
There had been little to capture Ash's interest, but for some reason, he hadn't felt like going to bed. His mother, Brock, Misty and Dixie had all gone to bed nearly an hour earlier. His face had lit like a candle when Dixie had kissed him goodnight, finally lifting the veil on her icy curtain. Now, though, it was once again stoic, almost angered.  
  
  
  
"And in Pallet Town," the news announcer continued, unaware of Ash's lack of interest, "Yet another victim has fallen to the strange attacks that have been occurring both in and around the tiny hamlet." He rattled his papers, glancing down at a few figures before slicking back his greasy hair. "The girl, found by a mountain rescue team near the Pallet Cliffs just south of the town, appeared to be in a, quote, 'coma-like state'. Like the others, however, she recovered quickly, and was released only twelve hours after the occurrence. And now, to Donny with sports. We have an upset in the Major Leagues with the Viridian Victreebells, don't we Donny?"  
  
  
  
Ash would never know Donny's opinion on the baseball team's current losing streak. His attention was focused completely on a small obsidian sphere resting on the antique coffee table Mrs. Ketchum had stylishly selected to sit in front of the couch. The relic (the sphere, not the coffee table) sat motionless, reflecting the television's unreliable light off of its sleek, smooth surface. Considering its age, the ball had weathered the tempest of time rather well.  
  
  
  
His eyes were locked in on the ball, having been that way for hours. It was almost mesmerizing, the way the ball gleamed no matter what light it was in…almost as though it had a light of its own, something that couldn't be understood or explained, but instead perceived on a level that humanity had lost touch with in the countless ages long past. That perception tickled the darker recesses of Ash's senses, telling him of what lurked within the ball. He could feel the danger lying just below its surface.  
  
  
  
And yet…  
  
  
  
Despite knowing just what was trapped inside the Demon Ball, he couldn't help but be drawn to it. Something about it made him long to touch it, to give himself to its unspoken promises. 'Come to me,' the container whispered to him and him alone, 'Complete me…and I will offer you so much. I will offer you the wor-"  
  
  
  
"Ash?" Misty's voice cut through the haze around his mind, snapping Ash back to reality with such force that he was forced to jump back from the ball, gasping and nearly tipping the couch over in the process.   
  
  
  
Misty descended the stairs, careful to soften her steps so as not to awaken the rest of the household. Her hair, short and unnaturally darkened, was cascaded into her aqua eyes, which glistened in the pale light. She wore an old, tattered shirt she had stolen from Brock to enlist as sleepwear. The hem of the old football jersey hung at mid-thigh, revealing long, bare, ivory legs beneath that carried her down the staircase. "Ash," she said again, this time more quietly and with a greater sense of concern, "Are you-"  
  
  
  
"I'm fine," he said quickly, brushing aside her hand and collecting himself. "Just fine." He looked up at her, and watched her eyes drift down onto the Demon Ball on the table. Her eyes held the same wistfulness that Ash's had just moments ago as she beheld the sphere.   
  
  
  
Her fingers tentatively curled as she brought it near the mysterious container, hesitating before she could come into contact. "What were you-"  
  
  
  
Ash's hand darted out, capturing the ball before anything could happen. "Don't touch it!" he snapped angrier than he meant to.   
  
  
  
The instant he touched the Demon Ball, the world began to spin. He suddenly felt something pulling at him without ever being aware of anyone touching him. It felt more as though something was pulling at him from the inside. He suddenly felt cold and dizzy. Something impacted hard against his cheek, and a familiar voice cried his name from a great distance. It took him a moment to realize that he had fallen down in his own living room; everything was spinning so fast…if it would just stop for a mo-  
  
  
  
GIVE IT TO ME…  
  
  
  
"Give…what…?" Ash heard his voice murmur, feeling the pull growing stronger, and yet resisting somehow.  
  
  
  
GIVE YOURSELF TO ME!  
  
  
  
"No." Ash whispered. It wasn't right. The Ball was wrong and he shouldn't give himself over to it whatever that meant because the ball was evil but it was the only thing holding the monster back which made it good but it was tryingtogethimto-  
  
  
  
"Ash!"  
  
  
  
The voice came from a distance again, attached to a sense of great urgency. He felt a new well of energy pour into him, coming from a place deep inside of him, and yet 'not' inside of him. The power felt warm and safe, familiar and strong, and he knew without a doubt that it loved him, and that he could trust it. With the new power at his metaphorical fingertips, he pushed the cold away. Yet even now, he could feel his real fingertips returning as the room's spinning began to lessen. Something was in his hand…the source! It was the source of the cold!  
  
  
  
With a Herculean effort, Ash managed to shove the Demon Ball into his pocket. The cold and dizziness ceased almost immediately, and he slumped against the cool wood of the table in relief. The new power he had felt was already subsiding, but a tiny tingle remained, as if it were waiting for the time when he would need it again. As before, it felt warm, familiar, but even stranger, he could feel concern and fear welling up inside of it.  
  
  
  
"Ash!" Misty cried again, grabbing him by the shoulders and hauling him back onto the couch. She wiped the cold sweat from his brow even as his senses came back to him. She resisted the urge to wake the entire household in a panic. "What happened?" she demanded, propping him up until his strength returned completely. "Are you okay?"  
  
  
  
"I'm fine." He insisted for the second time that night. This time, his heaving gasps and shaking eyes made him much less convincing than before. "Really."  
  
  
  
"You're a lousy liar, Ash Ketchum." She informed him. Her glance down at his pocket told him that she knew more than he wanted her to know, but he was grateful that she didn't pry further. "C'mon, let's go into the kitchen. I feel a midnight munching session coming on." She offered her hand to help him up, but naturally, he bull headedly refused, and together they staggered into the kitchen. However, the act of ego made Misty feel a bit better; if Ash was too stubborn to accept help he needed, then he was probably feeling better already.  
  
***  
  
  
  
"What's the matter?" Ash sank into a chair at the table, still nauseous but recovering by the minute. "Couldn't sleep?"  
  
  
  
She shook her head, moving to the cupboard and pulling out some dinnerware, as well as some elements of a midnight snack. "It's weird," she commented, digging through Delia's familiar array of food, "I usually only have trouble sleeping when something bad's happening."  
  
  
  
"Or about to happen." Ash added, resting his head against the table. The cold surface felt good against his face.  
  
  
  
Misty smiled, tossing the peanut butter onto the counter and opening the refrigerator. "Yeah, that too." She suddenly sobered, but did her best to hide her features as she made their snack. "You don't think anything bad is coming our way, do you?"  
  
He sighed, propping himself up. He watched Misty as she moved about, and for the first time in a long time, he looked at her…really 'looked' at her. The pale ivory of her skin came alive in the pale moonlight filtering through windows. Her eyes, whenever they flashed impishly back at him, seemed to be a doorway into her soul. It felt as though Ash could see everything within her, and, though they had spent what seemed a lifetime together, he felt as though he was just starting to scratch the surface of her spirit.  
  
  
  
"Seriously," he tried to keep his eyes off of her, fearing that his stares might be caught and misinterpreted (though he had forgotten what long, slender, graceful legs she had…), "When is something bad 'not' coming our way?"  
  
  
  
Her response was to toss a sandwich in front of him, taking a seat next to him with an identical item in hand. "True enough," she sighed, taking a big bite and chewing thoughtfully.  
  
  
  
Ash frowned, sniffing at the familiar, alluring aroma. Curious, he lifted the corner of his bread, blinking in shock. "Misty," he muttered with confusion, "This is peanut butter and banana…"  
  
  
  
"Yeah?" she took another bite of her own bizarre concoction, tilting her head. "So?"  
  
  
  
He picked the sandwich up and took a delicate bite. It was just the way he would have made it. "I thought you hated peanut butter and banana sandwiches…"   
  
  
  
She stopped eating, looking down at her sandwich. "Huh. I guess I do. I just…I had this weird craving." She took another hesitant bite, but seemed to enjoy it less now that Ash had commented on her choice. "Usually, I leave this crap to you…"  
  
  
  
Ash, in the meantime, was totally lost in thought. Misty's odd craving for his favorite snack made him recall the ominous words of the Goddess just a few days ago; "Like all decisions, this too will have consequences. You may feel differently afterwards." Did she mean that he would regret his decision to save Misty (which he certainly did not), or that both of them would change because of it? He wasn't sure what the mechanics behind sharing part of his "life-essence" were…he didn't feel any differently. Then again, maybe he wouldn't know if he was. Either way, he was sure that Misty deserved to know.   
  
  
  
"Misty..." Ash muttered, setting his food down, "Misty, I…"  
  
  
  
A loud, sudden bang erupted from upstairs, cutting off Ash's confession. The two teens looked up at the ceiling, which was raining dust from the impact. Exchanging a silent glance, they got up and began trekking up the stairs, moving as quietly as possible.  
  
***  
  
  
  
They could both hear skittering and a soft voice coming from above, so Ash led the way to the attic's trap door. He was startled to find that it was already open, and the ladder was pulled down to the floor.  
  
  
  
"Stick close." Ash muttered, starting up the ladder.  
  
  
  
Misty smirked, following. "Don't I always?"  
  
  
  
The attic was as dusty, dingy and dark as he remembered. There were boxes stacked as high as the ceiling on either side. If his mother was to be trusted, then there were boxes dating back three or four generations on either side of his family. Apparently, it was a Ketchum tradition to collect as much junk as you can, and try to contain it in cardboard.   
  
  
  
What concerned him at the moment, though, was at the other end of the attic, hidden behind a stack of poorly-labeled antiques. Motioning for Misty to remain silent, he crept forward on tiptoe, sliding along the boxes until he was just about to round the corner.  
  
  
  
"Ah…hah?" he cried, peering around with Pokéball in hand, and was almost disappointed to find that it was only Pikachu. The tiny mouse was struggling to pull its tail free, which was caught under an old black trunk. "Pikachu?"  
  
  
  
"Pi…" Pikachu whined, pulling uselessly at its lightning-bolt tail. It was wedged firmly, and painfully, underneath the hard metal trunk. Taking pity on his partner, Ash stepped forward and released Pikachu with a smile. The mouse scampered forward, grateful to be free, as Ash began examining the trunk.  
  
  
  
"Pikachu, you scared us to death!" Misty scolded the Pokémon, scooping it up into her arms. Pikachu snuggled in close, instantly earning Misty's forgiveness for the noise. She cradled Pikachu in a hug as Ash began tugging at the edges of the trunk. "What are you doing?"  
  
  
  
His fingers dug into the edge of the container, trying to pry it open. "What's it look like?" he grunted, pulling with all his might to no avail. "A little help, maybe?"  
  
  
  
Misty set Pikachu on top of a box of photo albums, then leaned in to examine the problem. With a small smirk, she reached out and flipped the latch of the trunk open. The response was immediate; the cover of the trunk, already under great strain from Ash's efforts, flew open and struck him square in the face. "How's that?" she asked the champion trainer, who was flat on his buttocks.  
  
  
  
He grunted, hauling himself forward to peer into the mysterious trunk. Inside was a mix of papers, books, pictures, and random items too numerous to mention. Reaching in, Ash pulled out a beat-up old baseball, whose stitches had begun to fray with time. The cool leather tingled against his skin, sending a charge up his arm. Cocking an eyebrow, he set it aside for the moment and continued to dig through the box.   
  
  
  
Misty watched in silence as he pulled out a photo album, opening the dingy cover. Finally, she couldn't take the quiet anymore. Leaning over his shoulder to get a better look, she asked, "What is all this?"  
  
  
  
He wiped the dust away, squinting at the pictures in the dim light. "Not sure," he muttered. The first page of the album looked like a set of wedding photos. He recognized the happy couple almost instantly; the blushing bride was none other than his mother, looking her best in virginal white. She was by no means an unattractive woman, but even Ash couldn't help but admit that she was really something to look at nearly two decades before. She was flanked by a trio of young gentlemen, all dressed in identical tuxedoes. The two on the outside seemed vaguely familiar, but they weren't the ones Ash was focusing on. Instead, his eyes were glued to the groom, to-  
  
  
  
"Your father…"  
  
  
  
Ash, Misty and Pikachu jumped three feet in the air at Delia's quiet voice. Turning around, Ash was about to curse his mother for sneaking up on them like that, but stopped cold at the look of pure dejection on her face. Her eyes were deep pools, reflecting a sadness that Ash hadn't seen in ages, yet had always shared. "Mom?"  
  
  
  
Delia cleared her throat, tugging the robe tighter around her frame. "Seth…Your father." She said again, forcing herself to keep an even tone. "Those are our wedding pictures."  
  
  
  
"Then…" Ash looked back at the trunk, filled with treasures from the past that he had never known. "Then, all of this stuff was-"  
  
  
  
"It's yours." At Ash's wide eyes, she said, "It belonged to your father. Now, I guess it belongs to you." There were tears that threatened to spill out onto her cheeks, but she held them in check somehow. With trembling hands, she took the album from Ash's hands, holding it close to her as if it were a child. "It was the happiest day of my life…"   
  
  
  
"Pi?" Pikachu tugged at the hem of her robe. She reached down and lifted the mouse up onto her shoulder, something that was totally unprecedented. Ash's mother had always treated his Pokémon with kindness, but had maintained a safe emotional distance from them. Since her husband's disappearance at the start of a Journey,, she had always shown an unhealthy mistrust of the creatures. It had been such a shock to Ash that she had accepted the rogue Mr. Mime into her home. Pikachu, however, adjusted comfortably to the situation, sensing Delia's vulnerability almost preternaturally, and cuddling up to her by instinct.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," she sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I just…I hadn't expected to see him tonight, that's all."  
  
  
  
Ash nodded, understanding. "The anniversary's coming up soon." He stated, moving in close to his mother's arm so he could see the photos with her as she paged through the book.  
  
  
  
Misty shifted uncomfortably, backing away from the emotional pair. "I…I should go," she stammered with blushing cheeks. "This seems like a family moment."  
  
  
  
"I wish you wouldn't."  
  
  
  
As she edged away, Delia's hauntingly sad voice stopped her cold. Misty froze, unsure of what to do, or where to look. She was grateful when Delia strode over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Misty, I…I hope you don't feel uncomfortable around us."   
  
  
  
"No! I mean, that's not it…" Misty insisted quickly, frantically waving her hands. "I just didn't want to intrude, that's all."  
  
  
  
Delia said nothing at this. She chose a short, sturdy box to sit upon, and silently motioned for the two teens to join her. As they sat, she began pointing out different pictures. There were more of the same people in the pictures; Delia, Seth, and their escorts from the first photo. One was tall and brawny, and reminded Ash a bit of Brock, but with shorter hair and even more muscle. The other had a long blonde ponytail and glittering blue eyes.   
  
  
  
"Mom," Ash could no longer contain his curiosity. "Who are these guys?"  
  
  
  
Delia seemed surprised. "You don't recognize this handsome devil?" she asked, pointing to the brown, spike-haired hulk stuffed into a tuxedo. "This is Brock's father, Flint."  
  
  
  
"You're kidding!" Misty laughed, tapping the photo. "Small world, huh?" She frowned, glancing down at the other. Without looking, she knew that Ash shared her sense of familiarity with that figure as well. "What about him?" she asked, pointing to the blonde.  
  
  
  
"Oh." Delia's voice resumed its dour tone, crestfallen with the weight of old memories come to haunt her. "That's your father's half-brother…your uncle, I suppose."  
  
  
  
Nothing could have floored Ash more. He swallowed hard, shivering at what he knew would come next. "My…my uncle. Why didn't you guys ever-"  
  
  
  
"He…died before you were born." Delia seemed to struggle for a response. "It wasn't long after the wedding, actually. Your father and I thought it would be…easier for you if you never knew."  
  
  
  
"Oh…" he stared down at the picture, unsure of how he was supposed to feel at the moment. He was sure of only one thing; something inside his gut told him that he had met that man before…  
  
=To Be Continued=  
  
A mysterious, familiar stranger from Ash's past? Wow! Tune in next time for another exciting episode of Pokémon: BadgeQuest! 


	4. Auf Wiedersehen

=Author's Notes=  
  
        Finally, on to new material!  
  
BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 4=  
  
Dueling Reunions  
  
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        Brock sat on the Ketchum's couch, delicately sipping a cup of Mount Moon blended coffee as a vapid, mindless morning news show droned on. His feet were propped up on the coffee table, and a plain, white towel was perched patiently on his shoulder, seemingly with no reason. His ears perked up at the mention of another series of strange attacks in the Pallet area, but that was only for a moment. Mostly, he was engrossed in his younger friend's find from last night.  
  
The album was opened across his lap as he turned its pages, careful not to spill anything on the precious book. Ash had said little about the album before he and Dixie had taken off for Oak's lab; only that it was his father's, and that Brock's father, Flint, was among its pages as well. True enough, Flint was smiling back at Brock, decked out in a full tuxedo. With a quick mental assessment, Brock figured that the picture had been taken well before he had ever left his family on his mysterious journey.  
  
It was no wonder Ash had been so excited about the find. There, in the pages of the album, was a world that Ash had never seen before, at least not to Brock's own limited knowledge of his friend's past. His father's life was immortalized in grainy color; his and Delia's marriage…past that, a photo of the happy couple, along with Flint and the mysterious blonde man, taken somewhere in Viridian Forest. Brock couldn't blame Ash for pouring over the book the entire night. As a matter of fact, Dixie's gentle insistences had been the only thing pulling him away from the pictures.  
  
The front door swung open and closed, sealing itself from the perpetual, torrential rain that pounded the landscape without mercy. He heard a pair of hasty footsteps cross the hardwood floor, squeaking with filthy water and mud that would have made Mr. Mime explode in a frenzy, if the lazy Pokémon had bothered to wake up before noon.  
  
"Ahh," Misty sniffed, stepping in between Brock and the television. Brock's eyebrows quirked up for a moment, the only sign that his narrow eyes even flickered in her direction, before returning to his album. "There's nothing like a little early-morning training to clear out the cobwebs. You should really try it sometime, Brock."  
  
"Maybe when it's sunny outside." He glanced up again, getting a better look. Misty was soaked from head to toe in freezing cold rainwater. Her hooded blue sweatshirt clung to her like a second skin, as did her soggy blue jeans. Socks sagging under the weight of water, she shook her hair free of its makeshift ponytail, creating a steady drip, drip, drip of water down her back that fell to a puddle on the floor. He shifted his shoulder, grabbing the towel with his free hand. "Need this?"  
  
She snorted, waving him off. "You have to be kidding! These conditions are best for training Water types; with all the moisture in the air, and on the ground, it's when my Pokémon are at their most powerful!"  
  
"So…do you want the towel, or not?"  
  
"God yes." She snatched the towel, burying her face in the warm, cotton folds. "Thanks." She wiped herself down as best as she could and used the rest of the towel to soak up her mess. She peeled away the hooded sweatshirt, revealing a black T underneath. "That's the album," she remarked, bending over to have a better look.  
  
"Borrowing Ash's clothes as well as his room, huh?" Brock smirked at the black shirt.  
  
He was rewarded with a blush as Misty tapped the plastic-protected pages. "Don't change the subject…" her eyes grew clouded for a moment, as if thinking of the past. "What do you make of all of this?"  
  
He frowned, rubbing his stubbly jaw line. "Dunno…I guess I was around when all this happened. Guess I would have been about five or so. But I don't remember ever meeting Ash's mom or dad."  
  
Misty nodded with a sigh. "I guess. I don't remember much about when I was that age, either." She pointed to the photo of the quartet standing in the forest. Seth's arms were wrapped around his darling wife's, with Flint and the stranger standing to either side. Her finger rested on the blonde as her lips thinned. "What do you think about him?"  
  
"I'm not sure…" Brock admitted. "Ash said something about an uncle…Kind of hard to believe that you could go through life without knowing about something like that. It's got to be pretty mind-blowing."  
  
"What do you mean?" Misty smirked. "Personally, I wouldn't mind the reverse happening…I could stand to lose a sister or two."  
  
"You don't mean that."  
  
"You haven't seen them when their cycles hit."  
  
"Ouch." Still, Brock's voice remained somber as he added, "But Ash has never had any real kind of family beyond his mom and dad. Both his grandparents died before he was born, and then his dad…"  
  
Misty grew silent, no longer making light of the revelation. "Family must be pretty important to someone who never had one…"  
  
A new question dawned in Brock's spiked head. "Why would his mom keep something like this from him?"  
  
"Maybe she had a good reason." Misty countered after a moment's thought. "She would never do anything do hurt him. I mean, there's got to be a reason."  
  
"It's only fair, I suppose," Brock looked up at her with a wry grin. "I mean, when you consider everything we're keeping from her, this uncle thing seems pretty tame."  
  
"And what, pray tell, are you two keeping from me?"  
  
Delia Ketchum stood on the stairway, leaning over the banister as she looked down at the younger adults. She wore a simple robe over her nightgown, smiling serenely at them as they hemmed and hawed.  
  
"Uh…Uh…"  
  
Misty was completely useless, but Brock managed a feeble recovery. "We were just thinking of…my secret recipe!"  
  
Very feeble.  
  
"Recipe?" she descended the stairs on graceful legs. "You mean your No-Chew Stew?"  
  
"Yeah, that's it!" He laughed nervously, exchanging glances with Misty. Her angry eyes questioned his sanity, and he knew it. "My stew."  
  
"Oh Brock…" Delia sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Do you really think I'm so stupid?" He cringed at her words, but she pushed on. "Of course I know what's happening to Ash. I've always known."  
  
"You have?" Brock felt his mouth dry out in a heartbeat, becoming cottony as his tongue swelled up and flopped uselessly about. "…Oh."  
  
Delia sighed, brushing the hair from her eyes as she gazed out the perpetual tempest droning on outside. "Ash isn't the only Ketchum who talks to Professor Oak, you know. Besides…Do you really think that I couldn't sense it? The new scars, the stammer in his voice when he tells those stories, the look in his eye when you three lie right to my face…" Her shoulders sagged. "I can sense when my little boy's in danger."  
  
"M-Mrs. Ketchum…" Misty stammered.  
  
Turning back at the girl's voice, Delia managed a small, pathetic smile. "I hate it when you two call me that. It makes me sound old, and it's so impersonal…" She sat down next to Brock and took the album from him without protest. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to look either one of them in the eye, and the photos of her past were an easy escape from facing them both.  
  
"Misses…Delia," Brock caught himself. Her gaze lifted as he spoke her name, and he was almost moved to tears; the sadness in her eyes was enough to make him feel three inches tall. "I…I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. I can understand how you wouldn't want me to worry. Please…" Delia's voice hiccupped as the tears she had fought so hard began to spill out. "I…Don't tell Ash any of this, but…whenever he leaves…whenever you all leave…I have such horrible nightmares." Her cheeks grew wet as she watched their faces fall. "It's almost like I can see you all being hurt…Knowing what you'll face out there."  
  
Misty moved to the other side of Ash's mother, placing the woman's hand in her own. Brock did the same, giving the older woman a comforting squeeze. "Nothing bad's happened to any of us." Misty said, trying to reassure her. "We're all okay."  
  
"For how long?" Delia demanded softly. "How many times will it take before Team Rocket is successful? Before these monstrosities get the better of you? Before someone or something comes along, and suddenly…" She trailed off, letting the thought complete itself. "I lost Sa…Seth to this world. His world…Ash's world, now." Her face buried itself in her palms, dripping with her hidden tears. "I just know that-"  
  
"It won't come to that." Misty told her, putting an arm on her shoulder. "I…'We' won't let anything happen to him, just like he would never let anything happen to us."  
  
"Don't tell Ash…" Delia sobbed pleadingly. "Don't tell Ash…"  
  
"We won't." Brock promised her. Misty exchanged incredulous glances with him, but his iron gaze told her that he was serious. "We promise."  
  
***  
  
        The walk to Professor Oak's laboratory was one of the soggiest Ash could remember. The rain had been pouring for weeks in Kanto, and showed no signs of stopping any time soon. He and Dixie were donned in a pair of old ponchos, something his mother always squirreled away for the monsoon season. Ash's poncho bulged at the stomach, giving him a ridiculous and uncomfortable girth to keep balanced on the slippery mud.  
  
        Dixie's hand was firmly grasped in his as they strolled down the dirt lane lined with old, wizen trees. He gave it an experimental squeeze, and felt relieved when she returned the gesture. He wasn't sure if it was because she felt overwhelmed and scared by her new surroundings, or because she was actually beginning to forgive him, and he didn't really care. The damage had to be fixed somehow, and it was a decent start.  
  
        "Is that it?" Dixie drawled, pointing to the towering windmill set atop Oak's lab. The building was a reverse image of itself, bland and grey where it was usually colorful and cheery. "It's so…big."  
  
        He smiled, running up the steps. "That's not the half of it. Watch this." Dixie quirked her head curiously as he led her up the front walkway, taking refuge under the roof above. She opened her mouth to question his bemused features, but he shushed her and reached to knock on the door.   
  
        Just as his knuckles descended on the cracked red paint, the door whipped open, revealing a warm, wrinkled man in his mid-sixties. He wore a white lab coat, which was fraying at the end and looked nearly as old as he did. His features were soft and round as he smiled at the pair. "Come in, come in! You'll catch your death of cold if you stay out there." He insisted, shooing them in before either could say a word. Dixie gaped in amazement at Ash, who merely smiled smugly at the Professor's predictability.  
  
        The bulge at Ash's stomach wiggled, producing a tiny claw at the bottom hem of the garment. Pikachu ripped the poncho upward, heaving a breath of fresh air and wishing for all the world that Ash used stronger deodorant. "Pii…" it sighed, dropping to the ground in relief as Professor Oak took the rain-soaked ponchos.  
  
        "Such terrible storms lately," he commented, clucking his tongue as he closed the coat closet. His piercing eyes came to rest on Dixie, brightening at the sight of the beautiful blonde. "Ah, you must be the illustrious Miss Dixon Mason!"  
  
        "Please… just Dixie," she blushed heavily, putting a hand to her cheek.  
  
        "I knew your grandfather quite well, young lady," Oak told her solemnly. A hint of sorrow crept into his wizen features at the thought of his departed colleague. "He was a brilliant researcher, and a good friend. I am deeply-"  
  
        "Here," she cut him off, not wanting to deal with the thought of her grandfather, no matter how sweet the sentiment was. Ash winced internally; though it had been nearly a year, the loss of Doctor Mason still haunted Dixie quite a bit. The two men watched in silence as she reached into her backpack, producing a small black box. Holding it up for the Professor to see, she revealed its contents to the bushy-eyed scientist.  
  
        "My word…" Oak muttered, pulling out one of the tiny metal-and-plastic chips and turning it over in his hand. "Tiny things, aren't they?"  
  
        "Believe me, Professor," Ash muttered, "They pack quite the wallop." He glanced down at Pikachu, who gave him a knowing smile. "It took a lot getting them here, too…"  
  
        "Yes, Gary has already told me the story."  
  
        Ash swallowed, suddenly feeling like his mouth was stuffed with cotton. "Uh…"  
  
        "Quite the story, too." A new voice emerged from the darkened hallway, one that Ash and Dixie recognized immediately. There, amidst the shadows, stood a young figure carrying a manila folder tucked beneath his armpit. He wore a simple green T-Shirt and faded denim jeans, with a heavy teal cap tilted at an odd angle atop his messy brown locks. "I especially liked the part about the energy shield. I looked into it, and I found some precedent on non-psychic human beings in situations like that one manifesting-"  
  
        "RICKY!" Dixie shrieked, rushing forward. She nearly took the boy apart as she slammed him into a vicious hug. "Oh my god," she sobbed joyfully, tears streaming from her eyes, "I'm so glad to see you! I was so worried, and-"  
  
        "I, uh…" Richie scratched his head, ignoring the file Dixie's tackle had knocked onto the floor. As opposed to Dixie's unbridled elation, his features were confused, even frightened. He looked to Professor Oak, his face questioning and pleading. "Professor…" he asked, his voice shaking like a leaf.  
  
        "It's quite all right, Richard." Oak assured him, gently prying Dixie away from him. "Dixon," he reminded her, "I'm afraid that Richard doesn't remember…remember?"  
  
        It was clear that she hadn't. She backed away slowly, muttering an apology. Her eyes were glued to the floor, tears still present. Richie seemed embarrassed as well. He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning over to meet her gaze. "Hey," he offered his hand to her, shaking gently. "It's nice to meet you."  
  
        "L-likewise," she whimpered, tears dripping onto a forced smile. The irony of meeting an old friend for the first time drove a hard nail into her stomach  
  
        Ever the artful host, Oak shuffled the pair aside. "Richard," he suggested amiably, "Why don't you show Ms. Mason upstairs to the kitchenette and fix her a cup of tea?"  
  
        Ash nearly protested as Richie led the troubled girl away. He had wanted to talk to the boy himself, and find out what had happened to him after their rescue at Mount Moon. Upon seeing Dixie's features, however, he wisely refrained; Dixie had, apparently, known Richie far longer than he had, and probably a lot better. He could wait. Besides that, one glance back at Professor Oak's soft-yet-serious demeanor reminded him that he had more important matters to attend to first.   
  
        As soon as the duo was upstairs, Ash allowed himself a slow, shaky sigh, one that Pikachu mimicked in perfect time. The gesture did not go unnoticed by his mentor. "I believe you and I can take our tea in the main lab, hmm?" he rested a hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash didn't know why, but the simple gesture made him feel a million times better. He gave Oak a warm smile, a genuine one this time, as they adjourned to the lab via the compound's confusing mess of hallways. "So, Ash," Oak led the way into the research room, expertly dancing between bulky, mysterious machines to reach the far counter, "My grandson told me about your latest escapades in the Alaskan mountains."  
  
        Ash followed close behind, making sure that Pikachu had followed all right. The thunderous mouse was right at his heel. Like Ash, Pikachu hadn't forgotten the time the two of them had gotten lost in the labs for half a day before Oak had found and rescued them. He saw the Professor already hard at work with a kettle of hot water, and marveled at the old man's resourcefulness. He really didn't miss a beat.  
  
        "What did he tell you?" Ash asked cautiously, accepting a glass of steaming liquid from Oak. He picked up a biscuit (also at the ready) and tossed it to Pikachu before taking a tender sip.  
  
        Oak's eyes sparkled with mystery. Leaving his own tea untouched, he reached down into one of the cabinets beneath the counter and pulled out a large, thick tome bound in ancient leather. His strong hands cradled the book gently, laying it to rest on the counter. "Enough to make a connection with this," Oak informed him, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
        "That's-"  
  
        "The Foretelling of Ma'kala." Oak nodded. He pulled a small computer screen attached to a telescopic armature over, touching the screen and calling up several different files. "I haven't had much time for translating it…Anthropology is just a hobby of mine, really," he lamented. With expert fingers, he called up a file filled with pictograms and subsequent translations. "Do you know what this is?"  
  
        Ash recognized the file instantly; it was the passages of the book that the Professor had already managed to translate…the files that Tracy had helped him 'borrow' from the old man's files. "No." Ash said quickly, praying that he sounded innocent.  
  
        If Oak suspected any deception, he didn't voice anything. He remained silent for several moments, leaving only the rain pounding against the windows to break the quiet. "I must admit, Ash," he confessed at last, "I did not simply take Richard in out of the goodness of my own heart…"  
  
        "I had kind of wondered about that…" Ash nodded, glad for a change of subject. "Wouldn't it have made more sense to send him home to his parents?"  
  
   
  
        "Didn't you know? Richard's parents have been dead for nearly four years."  
  
        The statement hit Ash like a sledgehammer to the ribs. Dusting the cobwebs away from his memory, he recalled a time when Richie had gone back to America for a few months…Suddenly, the trip made sense. But the trainer had never breathed a word about anything. "I…didn't know." He admitted.  
  
        "I happened to come across his case purely by accident," Oak continued, unaware that Ash was only half-listening. "There have been plenty of cases of memory loss, of course, but the wild stories he described to the medical team caught my interest. Of course, I wouldn't have thought anything of it if you hadn't given me that artifact to hold on to…"  
  
        That captured Ash's attention completely. "Professor, do you-"  
  
        Wordlessly, Oak led him over to a row of square lockers, each constructed of stainless steel, stacked four high. He entered the access code for one of the lockers on the top row and pulled on the latch. A small hiss escaped the chamber as the air pressure equalized, covering the tiny gasp that passed Ash's lips as he saw the accursed ball sitting beyond the door.  
  
        "I believe this is the object you were going to ask me about…" he remarked to the transfixed teen with a small smirk. "I've kept it locked up, just as you asked. I limited my research-"  
  
        "You didn't touch it, did you?" Ash blurted out without thinking.  
  
        Oak's eyebrow elevated. "Ash…is there something you aren't telling me?"  
  
        "There's plenty, old man."  
  
        Lightning flashed and thunder roared, underscoring the new voice's intrusion. Turning in unison, Ash, Oak, and Pikachu looked to the lab's entrance. There in the doorframe stood a young, curvaceous silhouette with hand on hip, glaring defiantly at the two men and their Pokémon. The figure stepped into the light, revealing dark brown hair and picture-perfect features twisted with disgust.  
  
        "Giselle…" Ash murmured her name in shock, rooted to the spot.  
  
        She strode forward, her heels clicking against the hard, cold tile. "That 'artifact' is a Demon Ball. And Ketchum is the Chosen of the Pokégoddess herself."  
  
=To Be Continued=  
  
        In case you were wondering (and even if you weren't), the title of this chapter is a play on the title of a song, Dueling Banjos (and it's widely-acclaimed parody, Dueling Tubas). Honestly, something I've missed in the series is coming up with the titles to the stories. The Hidden Machine Saga didn't offer much in the way of creative titles… 


	5. Ciao

BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 5=  
  
Revelations  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
  
  
Dixie nodded, looking down into her tea as Richie poured himself a glass. She heard his seat pull in and out as he sat down, bumping the table and causing her reflection to shimmer and shake. "Totally true; you and I have known each other since y'all used to pull on my pigtails back in kindergarten."  
  
  
  
He chuckled, taking a sip of his tea. "Jeez, it sounds like I might owe you some apologies."  
  
  
  
"Naw, I got you back plenty of times," she laughed, recalling several pranks that she had come out ahead on. "As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I still have a picture of you wearing a frilly pink dress around somewhere."  
  
  
  
"Wow," he laughed with her, "I'm almost glad that I can't remember." Her laughter died immediately. He could almost see the dagger enter her heart, and kicked himself mentally. "Sorry. I didn't-"  
  
  
  
"S'okay," she grimaced, looking down at her tea again. "It's not like…I mean, you're the one with…"  
  
  
  
He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "It's funny. I mean, I can't miss what I can't remember, right?"  
  
  
  
"Even me?"  
  
  
  
He kicked himself again, gritting his teeth. He was supposed to be a gentleman (at least, that's what everyone else *said* he was), but here he was screwing up left and right. Great. "I…" he stammered, wondering if there was a way to take words back after the fact. Maybe that should be Professor Oak's next project. "Sorry."  
  
  
  
She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything like that. This is…" Dixie blushed, chastising herself for making him uncomfortable. "This is just a little weird."  
  
  
  
There was pointed, uncomfortable silence between the two. Richie was the first to break it, snapping his fingers. "I just remembered!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He began digging through his pocket, suddenly possessed with new life. "I found this with the stuff that my doctors managed to gather together after my accident."  
  
  
  
Dixie leaned forward as he produced a small photograph from his pocket, setting it down on the table and sliding it over to her. She took it up by the edges and held it up, inspecting it close. At a single glance, she felt her entire world spinning out of control, vanishing in an instant and leaving behind only herself, Richie, and his mysterious photo.  
  
  
  
"See," he pointed to the three people in the picture, "I figure the one in the middle is me…" He pointed to the middle of three young teenagers on a dirt road. "I didn't know who you were until you e-mailed." He scratched his head, indicating the third. "I've been trying to find out she is, but I haven't had any luck yet. I thought maybe you could help out."  
  
  
  
Sure enough, there was a younger Richie, leaning against a wooden fence post in the middle of nowhere with two lovely young girls at either side. Dixie's heart sank as the recognized herself in the picture. All three of them wore insufferably cute, baby-faced grins, reminding her just how stupid and infantile they had been. Her face blanched and fingers shook as memories began flooding back to her.  
  
  
  
"So, he asked excitedly, ignoring her reaction to the photo. "You know who she is, right? Maybe we could all get together, or something."  
  
  
  
"Yeah…" Dixie swallowed, "I know who she is."  
  
  
  
Richie waited patiently for almost five seconds of complete silence before he finally broke. "So? Who is-"  
  
  
  
"Karen." Dixie blurted, cutting him off. "Her name…Her name's Karen."  
  
  
  
"Karen…" he murmured, looking at the petite brunette in the photo thoughtfully. "Huh. I can't imagine what we three used to do together. Do you have any-"  
  
  
  
"Can…" Dixie interrupted again, pretending to need a refill on her tea. "Can we talk about something else?" With quivering hands, she poured herself a fresh glass, spilling onto the counter. Cursing, she grabbed a roll of paper towels, mopping up the mess.  
  
  
  
Something clicked inside Richie's brain. Too bad for him, it had the wrong idea. "Oh, I get it!" he grinned at her back, "You're jealous!"  
  
  
  
Dixie stiffened, freezing in mid-swipe. The cold tea soaked into her hand as it sat in the puddle, slowly dripping down onto the floor. Her mind's eye was suddenly filled with Karen's smiling face, her laughter like a thousand wedding bells. She felt tears threatening the edges of her vision, but forced them back with the swipe of her hand. "You have no idea…" she muttered softly.  
  
  
  
"What was that?"  
  
  
  
Clearing her throat, she straightened, turning back with fresh tea and a plastic smile. "You're a little confused," she said through gritted teeth. "I have a boyfriend downstairs."  
  
  
  
"That Ash guy, huh?" he glanced back at the doorway, thinking of the youthful hero downstairs with Professor Oak. "Huh." he said again. "Never would have guessed it."  
  
  
  
"Why?" she demanded more defensively than she would have liked.  
  
  
  
Sensing that he touched a nerve, he took a step back, waving his hands. "Nothing like that!" he sweatdropped, laughing nervously. "He just doesn't seem like your type, that's all."  
  
  
  
"I'll have you know that we're very much in love," she replied hotly, suddenly feeling annoyed. Oddly enough, it brought her a small piece of relief; she and Richie had argued all the time back when he was still the man she had known. Maybe there was still something left of the old Richie in this new version. "We can't see enough of each other!"  
  
  
  
"Wow…" Richie mused, "You must be pretty lucky to have someone love you that much."  
  
  
  
"…yeah." Dixie sighed, keeping her tongue. "I guess I am."  
  
  
  
The rest of their time together was spent in silence.  
  
***  
  
  
  
"He's the Disciple."  
  
  
  
Oak leaned back in his custom-molded rolling chair, critically eyeing his lab's intruder. She leaned against one of his more expensive scanning machines, absently picking her nails as she spoke of matters of planetary consequence as if calmly discussing the weather. Her unexpected and unknown entry, as well as her flippant attitude, was beginning to wear on Oak's deep well of patience. "Young lady," he said in a tone of warning, "I do not appreciate people who enter my facility without my knowledge. I do not appreciate your tone, or your attitude. I suggest you start making sense."  
  
  
  
"Yeah," Ash affirmed, seated in a reversed chair at Oak's side. However, he was far more excited, and at the same time, afraid; Giselle had just told Oak what he had hemmed and hawed about for months. With that out of the way, he was curious to know what she knew about his own destiny; he, himself, was a little sketchy on the details.  
  
  
  
Giselle shrugged, tossing her long, black hair back over her shoulder. "You're the one with the book, old man." She sniffed, checking her cuticles. "You should know even more than the blockhead over here."  
  
  
  
"Hey!"  
  
  
  
"You are referring," he intoned coldly, "To the Foretelling of Ma'Kala."  
  
  
  
"Ten points to the egghead." Giselle pointed to Oak's screen, which already held several pages of the mysterious tome's translations. "It's all right here."  
  
  
  
"And how, pray tell, do you know about any of this?"  
  
  
  
With a long, irritated sigh, Giselle began to spin the tale of the teens' adventures at Mount Moon; the discovery of the first Demon, the ball, and Missingno's flight. Curiously, she left out the monster's brutal assault on Richie, but Ash bit his lip and saved his comments for later as the tale wound down. "After that," she grimaced, "I chased the son of a gun across the entire Island."  
  
  
  
"Back up," Ash snapped, scowling at Giselle with naked disgust. "You're telling me that you've been tracking Missingno across the entire island this whole time?"  
  
  
  
"Someone had to." Giselle replied coldly, returning Ash's anger with a hard, icy glare. "The one who was supposed to hunt him down took off like a little yellow streak."  
  
  
  
"Why you little-"  
  
  
  
"That. Is. Enough." Oak's voice remained level, raised only to be heard above the teens' arguing. His heavy, furrowed brow belied his anger, which he kept under careful reign. "Ash, you will remain quiet, or I will ask Pikachu to knock you unconscious for the remainder of this conversation. Young lady, I'd thank you to get to the point quickly."  
  
  
  
With the law laid out, Giselle seemed to exhale her attitude with a long, deep sigh. "I tracked him back to Pallet Town. Something's different, though; the people he's sucking are getting back up…it doesn't make any sense. So I came for some help."  
  
  
  
"Fine." Ash rumbled, folding his arms. "You helped. Tell me what you know, and where you saw him last, and I'll pick it up from there." He stood up, giving her a challenging stare.  
  
  
  
Giselle merely scoffed. "You think you can handle Missingno on your own?"  
  
  
  
"I handled this one!" Ash shot back, yanking a small sphere wrapped in a handkerchief out of his pack and slapping it down on the table. "I'll handle Missingno t-"  
  
  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" Oak murmured, ignoring the two teens. Taking great care, he pulled at the corners of the cloth, revealing a black, obsidian ball beneath. "Ash, is there really a…"  
  
  
  
"Oh my God…" Giselle breathed. "You actually…You really got…" Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she looked down upon Exile. The dark spirit was contained safely in the ball, which glistened against the intermittent flashes of lightning. Trembling, her hand inched forward, seeking to touch the ball.  
  
  
  
At the last second, Ash's hand darted out, slapping her hand away. "Don't touch it," he hissed, quickly wrapping it back up. "Don't ever touch them…especially when they're…occupied."  
  
  
  
Oak raised a brow. With silent approval from Ash, he picked up the cloth-bound ball, turning it over experimentally in his hand. "So then…there really is something living inside of here?"  
  
  
  
"No." Giselle shook her head, cutting Ash off. "Not living." Her tone was frigid and low, so much so that Ash couldn't help but shiver. It was as if he were listening to death itself from Giselle's lips as she spoke. "These…creatures…feed on the souls of others, because they have none of their own. They keep the souls inside of themselves, like batteries." Her eyes were hard as she looked back up at Ash. "We're nothing but fodder to these things."  
  
  
  
"I see…" Oak rubbed his chin, scratching at the perpetual layer of stubble that coated his cleft. "And where does Ash fit in to all of this?"  
  
  
  
"He's the Disciple. It's…It's kind of like a chosen warrior for God." Giselle seemed to stumble over Oak's latest question. She alternated between rubbing her arms and keeping them clamped down on her thighs, and seemed preoccupied with her shoes. ""Like a paladin, only he fights for the Pokégoddess."  
  
  
  
Ash suddenly remembered something that Exile had said. "Giselle, does the name 'Ashura' mean anything?"  
  
  
  
Surprisingly enough, Oak was the one that spoke up. With a frown, he said, "Ashura is the Pokémopolitan god of war. He was supposedly slain during the mythological war between Pokémopolis and the Gods by Ma'Kala himself…" His eyes grew distant with memory, plumbing into the grand depths of his expansive knowledge. "If I recall correctly, he was lover to Ashandra, the goddess of Nature-"  
  
  
  
"It's all true." Giselle nodded, confirming Oak's fact. "Ashandra gathered what remained of Ashura's spirit and began some kind of weird ritual tradition." Looking at Ash, she reached up, tapping his face. "Buckwheat here has Ashura's crest plastered on his ugly mug."  
  
  
  
Ash reached up, rubbing his cheeks. His skin tingled beneath his fingertips, where he knew his age-old black Z's rested just beneath his eyes. "M-My birthmark?" he murmured.   
  
  
  
It was all too much for him to deal with at once. Giselle, however, took no heed to Ash's cerebral overload. "Yeah. Every so often, Ashandra chooses someone new, blessing him with the spirit of her dead lover, making him into some kind of superhero. He's supposed to bridge the gap between human and Pokémon, or something stupid like that. She usually chooses them after they prove themselves with some heroic act, or…" she shrugged. Giselle seemed to have regained some of her former blasé attitude, leaning back with a flip of her hair. "I don't know why, but it looks like she chose this blockhead over me."  
  
  
  
Oak regarded her for a moment with a mixture of suspicion and thought. "Young lady," he said calmly, "Would you please give myself and Mr. Ketchum a moment in private? You'll find several other youngsters upstairs in the lounge. We'll be along presently."  
  
  
  
Ash felt his innards freeze up as Giselle stalked out of the room. She tossed Ash one last, searing look before disappearing through the door. Turning back to his mentor, Ash saw Oak give him a quizzical, mysterious look. He could already hear Oak berating him for keeping secrets this massive.  
  
  
  
"So, Ash…This is quite the pickle we're in, isn't it?"  
  
  
  
He opened one eye, only then realizing that he had been visibly flinching. Oak was the picture of calm, gazing peacefully at his young friend expectantly. "You…you mean you aren't mad?"  
  
  
  
"Well," Oak admitted with a shrug, "I would have liked to know ahead of time that you were having me keep a potentially dangerous artifact in my lab…but that's neither here nor there now." He picked up the Ball without protest from Ash, gesturing towards the lockers. "I assume you want me to lock this one up as well?"  
  
  
  
"Uh…yeah…" Ash stammered. "Um…aren't you going to yell at me, or something?"  
  
  
  
If anything, Oak seemed amused by the thought. "Ash," he scoffed, "I appreciate it when you come to me for advice and help. But I don't expect you to tell me everything. Everyone is entitled to their secrets." He even managed a laugh, placing Exile's sphere carefully in the sealed container. "Lord knows I have a few of my own."  
  
  
  
"Like my uncle?"  
  
  
  
Professor Oak stiffened, a first in Ash's experience. As perceptive as the old man was, he clearly hadn't been expecting that question. He moved slowly, closing the safe and locking it with another hiss of air. "So," he said, "Your mother told you about Takeshi."  
  
  
  
"Takeshi." Ash tasted the name, thinking back to the smiling man in his mother's album…His album too, he reminded himself. "Is…Was that his name?"  
  
  
  
"Yes." Oak nodded solemnly, retaking his seat. A long sigh parted his lips, and for the first time, Ash saw Oak for what he really was; a tired, old man. Possessed of great knowledge, keen intellect and a sense of impish trickery, no doubt…but an old man nonetheless. "Your father's half-brother."  
  
  
  
"Did you know him?"  
  
  
  
He nodded. "Oh yes. He and Seth were as thick as thieves, they were." A slight tinge of sorrow entered his voice as his eyes turned to the past. "He passed away while you were still just a child."  
  
  
  
Ash's eye tweaked. "Mom said he died before I was born."  
  
  
  
Oak scowled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Oh…yes, of course. You'll forgive an old man and his memory." He saw Ash's continued half-glare, and added, "And you'll forgive my silence on the matter. It was your mother's wishes that you never knew. You've had so much tragedy in your life…" Ash remained silent, staring at the floor. Oak took the opportunity, switching gears. "So. What will you do now?"  
  
  
  
"Now?" Ash felt his anger focusing as he remembered the scene from one year ago. He recalled a friend upstairs that suffered for his mistakes. He remembered Giselle's words; how dozens of people had fallen to the Pokémon demon's ghostly hand. He thought of the creature roaming the wilds of his home town. Somewhere, at that exact moment, an entire family could be falling to the evil clutches of Missingno.   
  
  
  
It was time to stop it once and for all.  
  
  
  
"Now we get serious."  
  
=To Be Continued=  
  
The challenge has been answered by The Disciple himself…but is he up to the task? Find out next time on Pokémon: BadgeQuest!  
  
Oh, and for those of you who comment on Ash's uncle's name; yes, it was deliberate, and yes, you will eventually find out. Of course, I do stress eventually. Lord knows it's taken me this long to reveal some of the secrets in the series, ne? 


	6. Toodles

Whoops! Apparently, the conversation between Dixie and Richie was so good, I tried to include it twice. Well, the mistake has been corrected, and you now have new material as well. Here we go!  
  
BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 6=  
  
…In The Rain  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
        Misty sat in the exact same spot Brock had, doing exactly what he had been doing that very morning. The album was opened across her lap as she flipped back and forth between the pages, entranced by Ash's past. There were dozens of pictures; some of them had his parents, some were of Flint and the mysterious uncle. A few of them even had Professor Oak in them, grinning for the happy couple out of sight behind the camera.  
  
        A small, red backpack lay at her side, its contents heaved across the rest of the couch. She had torn apart the pack to produce several of her own pictures. With a few snapshots in hand, she couldn't help but note the similarity between the previous generation's adventurers and her own group of friends. She wondered where they would be in ten years. Hopefully, she thought with a touch of sadness, We won't be scattered to the winds like these guys.  
  
        The door squealed open and shut, letting a cold draft race through the house. She snapped the album closed, turning on the couch just in time to see Ash lead a small gaggle in through the entryway. Her face brightened as she caught sight of Richie standing near the back, with Dixie hovering close to him. As quickly as it had come, though, her features darkened as Giselle's timeless sneer appeared.  
  
        "We're back!" Ash shouted to the household, wringing out his cap on the hardwood floor before slapping it back onto his soggy head. The effort was rendered useless as Pikachu shook out its own share of the storm outside, sending water cascading across the hallway walls. "And we have company!" Quickly, Ash caught sight of Misty and crossed the room, leaning down close. "We've got problems."  
  
        "You mean besides our usual bunch?" She rose and pushed Ash out of the way, snagging Richie in a bone-crushing hug. "Richie!"  
  
        "You must be Mis-ugh!" Richie's breath was evacuated before he could finish. His voice was replaced by several loud pops as Misty inadvertently rearranged his spine. "Nice to…see…you again…"  
  
        Delia descended the stairs, tucking one of her many books under her arm. She had only met Richie a few times through some of the different League events over the years, but anyone in her house in need of nurturing was an instant member of the family. "Richard!" she cried warmly. The boy escaped Misty's hug only to be wrapped in one of Delia's. "Oh, you poor, poor thing, you're all soaked to the bone-oh!" she noticed Giselle standing off to the side. "I don't believe we've met yet. I'm Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. And you are…?"  
  
        "People call me a star…" Giselle flipped her waterlogged hair back over her shoulder, spraying Misty in the face. "…but I'm just Giselle." She accepted Delia's hand, shaking it briefly. The elder Ketchum cocked an eyebrow, but remained silent as Misty wiped the droplets from her eyes.  
  
        "Charmed." She turned to her son, an unmistakable undertone of annoyance in her voice as she said, "Ash, dear, I wish you had told me we were going to have company over…I would have had some hot tea ready for you." She noticed a familiar twitch in her son's face, and immediately her voice dropped a few notches. "Ash, is everything all right?"  
  
        Ash took a deep breath, slapped a broad smile across his lips, and lied straight to his mother's face. "Yeah," he nodded cheerily, forcing the sentiment through a gritted smile. "Everything's okay. I'm just a little soaked, that's all. And we can't stay long," he added, not missing his mother's annoyance, "We have some…training to do."  
  
        His mother peered around him, looking out the glass smeared with running water, then down at the sopping wet Pikachu at their feet. "In this weather?"  
  
        "Yup." he nodded, putting on quite a convincing act. "I figure Charizard could use some heavy anti-element training. Plus, all these thunderheads are like a floating armory for Pikachu."  
  
        "Pi!" Pikachu agreed with a nod of its tiny chin.  
  
        Misty watched Delia's face transform from one of confusion to acceptance. However, she saw a brief, fleeting instant of true recognition in the woman's eyes. Without having to ask, she knew that Delia wasn't fooled for a second by Ash's deception.   
  
        "Okay, sweetie." she smiled, then pulled his hat off and ruffled his hair. "Just make sure you're all careful, okay?"  
  
        This time, Ash didn't have to lie at all. "We'll be real careful, Mom. I promise."  
  
        As if sensing what was coming next, she took Richie and Giselle by the arm, pulling them insistently towards the kitchen. "Training's all fine and good," she said sagely, "But none of you are going anywhere until you've had something to eat and something hot to drink. Dixie, could you give me a hand in the kitchen?" Dixie cast one last glance back at Ash before agreeing, following the trio into the kitchen and leaving the raven-haired duo behind in the entryway.  
  
        Misty brushed a lock of hair from her face, looking to the soggy pair in front of her expectantly. "All right," she sighed, "What's the emergency this time?"  
  
        "This is no joke, Misty." Ash warned her gravely. "Where's Brock?"  
  
        "He's off dealing with some other crisis." Misty said flippantly, rolling her eyes.  
  
        She didn't expect Ash to lose his temper, and was more than a little surprised to see his eyes alighted with fire. "I'm not fooling around here!" he shot back, grabbing her by the arm.  
  
        Misty winced as his grip became viselike. Since when did Ash have an explosive temper? That was her department. "Okay, okay, I-Ash, you're hurting me!"  
  
        "Huh?" He yanked his arm back as if burned, eyes wide. "Sorry…"  
  
        Rather than get angry, she moved in close. He seemed hesitant at her touch, but she ignored that, taking him by the shoulder. "Something's got you spooked…Wanna spill?"  
  
        With a long, deep breath, Ash recounted the situation to Misty, watching her features transform from bemused, to serious, to horrified. He watched her turn three different shades of pasty gray as he finished the tale, and didn't blame her a bit. He felt the same way.  
  
        "You really weren't kidding, were you?" she whispered.  
  
        He shook his head. "We are royally screwed this time…Missingno could be anywhere."  
  
        "Those attacks that've been on the news…You don't think-"  
  
        "I'd bet on it." he nodded coldly.   
  
        "Pi."  
  
        Swallowing, Misty attempted to re-forge her courage. "Brock's in town right now. He said something about 'Cabin Fever.' I think he'll be back in-"  
  
        His head shook again. "There's no time. We need to be out there now, looking for this thing." Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a quartet of handheld radios, handing one to Misty. "The Professor loaned me these babies. We've tuned them in to Gear's frequency, so we'll all be able to stay in touch with one another."  
  
        Misty turned the box over in her hands, the clipped it onto her belt. "That's great," she drawled, "Just great. There's just one problem…" At his questioning look, she finished, "How the heck to you plan on finding Missingno out there?"  
  
        * * *  
  
        "Heeeeeere, demon, demon, demon!"  
  
        Misty cupped her hands to her mouth, feeling foolish as she slogged through the mud in the rolling hills outside of Pallet Town. The rain continued to pour down, pounding against her simple blue poncho. The garment hung heavily against her skin, weighing her down through the puddles.   
  
        Behind her, Dixie scanned the landscape, looking for any signs of the creature that Ash had described to her. Before their adventures in Snowfort, she wouldn't have believed him for anything. Now, the thought of a gaseous demon didn't seem so far-fetched. Pikachu bounded at her feet, along with the two girls at Ash's request. Misty wasn't sure why, but Ash must have had a good reason to send his partner with them.  
  
        Misty called again, as if calling the family Growlithe home. "Oh Deeeeeeemoooooon! Ollie-ollie-oxen-free!"  
  
        "I don't think that's working," Dixie snapped, wearing a yellow poncho similar to Misty's. Only Pikachu was left to its own devices, and the Pokémon didn't mind too much. A happy trill escaped the mouse's soggy grin each time the storm flashed with lightning and belched a great clap of thunder. "Why don't you try offering it a treat?" Even through the sarcasm, it was clear that Dixie was hot under the collar about something. Then again, being chased by a monster tended to do that.  
  
        "I think we 'are' the treat."  
  
        "Fan-tastic." Dixie groaned irritably. She jumped as another bolt of lightning flashed uncomfortably close to the trio, followed closely by another rumbling roar of thunder. A vile curse ruptured from her lips as she swore at the heavens, challenging their cry with her own. "God, I hate this!" she shouted, looking up into the sobbing sky. The rain cascaded off of her angry face and down her poncho, adding to the cold chill that had haunted her since the ordeal with Ash's destiny started.  
  
        Misty was almost afraid of the uncharacteristic outburst, pulling away from her. "Hey, calm down!" she said, holding her hands. "It's okay…"  
  
        Dixie whirled on her. Anger spent, her eyes were hollow and frightened. Their mission was temporarily abandoned as she looked to her friend pleadingly. "Don't. Just don't."  
  
        "What?"  
  
        Venom crept into Dixie's glare, sending Misty stumbling back in surprise. Dixie followed in step, causing Misty to retreat several more steps before she composed herself enough to stand up to the simmering Southerner. "Dixie?" Misty wasn't fazed by the sudden temper tantrum (having thrown quite a few herself through the years), but was rightfully concerned. "What's the matter?"  
  
        Dixie paused for a moment, as if hesitating over something. Her face betrayed no indecision, however, as she said, "Do you love Ash?"  
  
        Misty couldn't have been more surprised if Dixie had pulled a revolver out and shot her. Her mouth flapped open and closed wordlessly, her throat dry and sandy despite the torrential downpour. Even Pikachu, who had been watching the lightning with rapt attention, was now fully focused on the girl's argument. "W-W-What?" she whispered, her voice long gone.  
  
        "Are y'all. In love. With Ash?" Each syllable burned into Misty like a white-hot brand of guilt. Dixie folded her arms, ignoring the rain, ignoring their Pokémon protector…even the looming, demonic threat wasn't enough to sway her. Obviously, the problem had been working at Dixie's last nerve for days. There was no more avoiding it. "Well?" Dixie demanded loudly, raising her voice even more above a loud crack of ominous thunder.  
  
        "I…It isn't that…You can't just…" Misty stammered helplessly, hemming and hawing. Her hands flapped nervously at her sides, and her face grew beet red. A thousand excuses fluttered through her mind, but not one of them seemed even remotely worthy. Besides…Did Dixie really deserve a lie? "I…I…"  
  
        Dixie's face dropped like a stone. "You do, don't you." It wasn't a question. It didn't have to be, for the answer was written all over Misty's face. "You're in love with Ash."  
  
        "It isn't that simple." Misty insisted lamely.  
  
        Dixie didn't even hear her. Her voice continued to rise as she said, "That's why you were acting so weird in Bluster…You…You…"  
  
        "Dixie, you have to believe me-"  
  
        Misty's pleas were halted by Dixie's lightning hand as it slapped her full on the mouth. Misty's fingers brushed against her rapidly-reddening skin as she gaped in awe. Had Misty's own guilt not been confusing her, she would have launched an immediate counter-attack. But despite her every impulse, she did not tear the foreigner apart.  
  
        Dixie had her own rage on display. She glowered wordlessly, quaking on the adrenaline high. The silence between the two was absolute, save for the pounding of the rain against their plastic slickers. It was as if there was a spell binding the two, keeping them frozen in that one moment as nature crashed and roared around them.  
  
        At long last, Dixie broke the silence. Her voice wavering, her eyes watering, she said, "How could you do this? I…I trusted you. I thought we were friends." The tears that she had tried to hold back burst forth, running down her cheeks. It was everything she could do to not to give in to the sobs stifled in her chest. "I thought…"  
  
        More wordless seconds dragged out as Dixie silently cried, not sure if she was more angry, or more hurt by Misty's betrayal. Misty stood helplessly by, head hung in shame. She had to tell Dixie something…to tell her that it wasn't true, that she was so sorry, that she and Ash were just friends, that there was nothing between them like that. Even if it was true, Misty knew in her heart that she was no threat to their relationship…she knew that Ash didn't feel anything like that for her anymore.  
  
        "Dixie, you-"  
  
        Cold.  
  
        Fear.  
  
        Death.  
  
        Death!  
  
        DEATH!  
  
        Misty screamed, clutching her head as she fell to her knees. The mud and rain seeped into her jeans as she cried out at the horrible feelings that assaulted her from every direction. Senses she never knew she had came alive, burning with an icy terror. Images flashed through her head; images of a white, prim house on Pallet Lane, with a white picket fence and a well-tended garden out back. Faces blazed into her mind's eye, the faces of two people she loved with all her heart, faces of people whose lives were in great danger.  
  
        "Pika!" Pikachu rushed up to Misty, forcing its way onto her lap. "Pikachu! Pi, pikachu!" The Pokémon howled, tugging at her hood, trying to get her to calm down. "Pi!"  
  
        Her anger spent, Dixie dropped beside Misty as the redhead's screams quelled. "Misty!" She forgot her outrage and Misty's betrayal. Was this something that the demon could do that Ash hadn't told them about? He had been so vague on the details, she wasn't really sure 'what' they were up against. "Misty, what is it?"  
  
        Deep, heaving breaths of cold wet air helped clear Misty's head as she leaned over, resting on her hands and knees in the pounding rain. She knew the call was coming even before their radio buzzed. She knew what was going on, even as Dixie answered the call, speaking with Ash's buzzing, static-filled voice with growing urgency. As Dixie finished the call and hurriedly put the radio back onto her belt, Misty knew exactly what she was going to say.  
  
        "Misty," Dixie began, confused and halfway to hysterics, "There's something wrong-"  
  
        "Back at the house." Misty finished. She rose, ignoring Pikachu, and Dixie, and the rain, the thunder, the lightning, the mud that clung to her, the guilt and hurt that assaulted her heart… There were more important things to deal with.  
  
        She only prayed they weren't too late.  
  
* * *  
  
=Five Minutes Earlier=  
  
        Ash strode along a deserted, hilly path very similar to the one the girls were on, feeling the same torrent that they felt. Part of him felt empty without his partner to back him up, but he knew without a doubt that sending Pikachu along with them was the right choice. He was no chauvinist, and he knew all too well that Misty and Dixie could take care of themselves, but when Missingno was involved, he didn't want to take chances.  
  
        Giselle and Richie trailed behind him, wearing slickers just like he did. Each of the trainers had an arsenal of strong Pokémon on hand to deal with the monster, assuming they could find him. The same dark feelings that had blasted Ash's mind back in Alaska were there, but not nearly as strong as they had been. Each time they came, he felt better prepared. It had taken forever to recognize them for what they were; a warning. Some kind of "demon-sense" that would give him an advanced warning.  
  
        With a sickening feeling in his stomach, he looked down at his Pokébelt. There were only a few days left before he would have to give them up. The League's decision still stood, and he would have to either apply for a new license, or turn them over to another licensed trainer.  
  
        "Hey, goofball!" Giselle's voice broke his thoughts, drilling into the back of his skull. "Move it along, I'm getting soaked out here!"  
  
        He ground his teeth, counting to ten. Even when he was a boy, his father had drilled into him a strong sense of chivalry. Highest on that list was the number one rule, "Never hit a woman."  
  
        "Hel-lo! Are you listening, or is that dumb hat of yours cutting off all the oxygen to your underdeveloped brain?"  
  
        He mentally ran through the numbers again. "You might want to thank my father." he said without turning around.  
  
        "Huh? Why?" She caught up to him with a few quick steps.  
  
        "His memory's the only thing that's keeping me from killing you right now."  
  
        She laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "As if you could take me, runt."  
  
        Richie ran up to the both of them, completely missing the dark vibe between the two. His face was brighter than Ash had ever seen it, filled with silent laughter. "Are you guys loving this, or what?"  
  
        "You mean the ungodly storm, or Ash's witty rejoinder?" Giselle grinned.  
  
        "No, this rain!" Richie threw his arms out, laughing delightedly. He must have caught the unlikely look his fellow demon hunters gave him, for he added, "I was stuck in that hospital for months…Never got to go outside, or anything." His faced dimmed for just an instant. "I had to look out that window every day, watching the world passing me by."  
  
        "Yeah, yeah, sob-sob." Giselle waved him off. "Just go play over there. Maybe if we're lucky, Missingno will come back to eat the rest of you."  
  
        Ash watched Richie walk off, arms still spread as he let the rain dance across his body. He couldn't help but marvel at his friend's naiveté. This Richie was nothing like his friend from years before. He saw the world with brand new eyes; fresh, clean, unspoiled. Part of him almost hated to take that away from him, but he didn't entertain any thoughts about letting Missingno get away.   
  
        "You know," Ash said aloud, "You could go easy on him."  
  
        "True." Giselle agreed. "We haven't even scratched the surface on how pathetic *you* are yet."  
  
        Ash bristled, clenching his fists. "Do you ever shut up?"  
  
        "Oh, please." Giselle strode forward, looking out to the dim, dank hills. Her black poncho blended well with the black clouds that hugged the land, pouring endlessly onto the soaked land. "I swear, the Goddess must have had a glitch in her crystal ball or something if she chose a loser like you."  
  
        "You think you could do better?" he challenged, thunder crashing as his temper flared. "I captured *my* demon. Where's yours?"  
  
        She snorted, unfazed by his anger. "You think you're hot stuff, taking down Exile after he just emerged?" Her shoulders squared as she stared him down, eye to eye, their noses nearly touching. Her twisted features grew icy as she said, "Missingno has absorbed more people than you can imagine…His power is absolute. You don't stand a chance…on your own." she added, pulling back. "I'm the one that'll take Missingno down, and prove that I'm really the One."  
  
        "What is it with you and this *One* crap, anyway?"  
  
        Her eyes narrowed. "It's about being the best. I won't accept anything less."  
  
        "Best?" A laugh escaped his lips. Despite the gravity of the situation, despite everything that had happened to him, he couldn't help it. "Are you insane? This has nothing to do with who's better!" He threw his arms out, looking up at the tearful sky as his voice rose to its highest. "I would give ANYTHING for someone else to have this job! You want it?" he shouted at her, pouring all of his pent-up frustration, "It's yours! Take it away!"  
  
        "God, you're such a drama queen," she rolled her eyes.  
  
        "I didn't WANT any of this!" he screamed. Even Richie caught his outburst as Ash began spitting and fuming. "You stupid, ignorant little girl! I don't want any of this!"  
  
        "Then don't do it."  
  
        The quiet whisper came so quickly that it quelled Ash's tantrum in an instant. "W…What?"  
  
        "Destiny isn't a map." Giselle had become the exact opposite of her previous self, quiet and collected. "It's something you have to live up to. Destiny picked you. You don't like it? Fine." She began to walk away, turning her back on him in the middle of their argument. "The rest of us will just pick up the slack, just like we always do."  
  
        "You…You…" Ash stammered, lost for the words to retaliate. "Y-Y-You don't…You c-can't…"  
  
        "Uh, guys…" Richie was almost afraid to interrupt, but the situation was rapidly heading towards a full-out battle…one they couldn't afford with the stakes as high as they were. "I hate to break in, but we haven't seen any evil clouds out here yet."  
  
        "I don't understand…" Giselle murmured, scanning the hills with her eyes. "I was sure he'd be out here…hiding somewhere, maybe in a cave or something."  
  
        Still shaken by Giselle's powerful sting, Ash's mind whirled back to his childhood, when he used to spend his summer days exploring the hills outside of his home town. He knew this area like the back of his hand, and there was nowhere he could think of that Missingno would choose to hide in. "This doesn't' make any sense…" Ash muttered. "Why did Missingno come back here, anyway? He would have an easier time hiding in a big city, where there would be lots of people to snack on."  
  
        "I thought of that." Giselle chucked her thumb at Richie. "Remember, Missingno is still carrying around half of the little twerp's life force."  
  
        "So?" Richie asked. Just the mention of the life that Missingno had stolen from him made him shiver. "What does this have to do with me?"  
  
        "Imagine your wimpy little soul is a piece of meat. Eating it halfway was like eating it raw, without preparing it." She made a gross, twisted face, squinching her hands together as her companions imagined a twisted ball of raw beef. "Right now, it's sitting inside of his stomach, burning like a bad case of indigestion." Her eyes locked with Richie's, staring at him with a hunger that must have mimicked Missingno's. He shuddered, wondering how she could know the demon's motivations so intimately. "When I heard that the headcase had come to Pallet, I figured that was why Missingno was heading back south."  
  
        "So, I'm bait?" Richie squeaked with horror.  
  
        "Nothing's going to happen to you, Richie." Ash reassured him with a hand on the terrified boy's shoulder. He glared at Giselle, furious that she had held all of this back until now. "You could have told us," he snapped.  
  
        "Sorry if you can't keep up," she said, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
        Ash was about to reply when he felt a wave of cold run down his spine. It had nothing to do with the weather, or the frosty look in Giselle's eyes. The cold brought with it a dark, tingling premonition, as if the hand of evil had brushed against his very soul.  
  
        Images danced in front of him as Richie and Giselle's voices grew distant. The world shimmered, and then reformed. Suddenly, he was standing in front of his house, transported in an instant. The rain chipped away at the house's eggshell paint while he stood there, watching. Try as he might, he could not move, and so stood rooted to the spot.  
  
        Suddenly, he felt himself moving forward. The door to his house loomed large in front of him, then parted easily. He slid past the portal with ease and into the living room. Voices floated from the kitchen, voices that he recognized in an instant.  
  
        Ash could not control his movement, nor his eyes, as he crept down the hall. His body didn't respond to any of his brain's commands. Helplessly, he approached the kitchen, spying two figures sitting at the table enjoying a cup of afternoon tea.  
  
        "Brock! Mom!" Ash shouted with glee, happy to finally see a friendly face. He felt so cold, so strange, that his heart leapt at the sight of his family. "What's going on?"   
  
        The noise seemed to catch their attention as they looked over at the doorway in tandem. However, their faces immediately fell into looks of pure terror. His mother leapt from her chair, pressing herself against the counter on the opposite side of the room as her mouth opened in a shrieking wail. Brock shouted something at her as he yanked a Pokéball from his pocket, but Ash couldn't make out his words. It was as if their voices were echoing in the distance, too far to be heard.  
  
        "What's wrong?" Ash reeled back as Brock rushed at him. The larger man was almost upon him when something knocked him back hard. He flew back into the table, knocking it apart as he bounced against the hard tile. "What's going on? Guys, it's me!"  
  
        He moved forward, helpless to stop himself. The world began to blur and twist at his vision's edges, growing hazy and finally to black. The last thing he saw was Brock's face, mouth open in a silent scream.  
  
        "Brock? Brock! Mom, no!"  
  
        He felt himself pitch forward, and suddenly he was struck with a wave of cold, gritty mud as he tumbled to the ground. His senses realigned themselves as he tasted the cool, soggy dirt, spitting it out as he hauled himself back up onto his hands and knees. Coughing, he looked up, and found himself back among the dark hills with Giselle and Richie.  
  
        "What happened to you?" Giselle looked down, frowning. "You totally spazzed out there for a second."  
  
        "Ash? You okay?" Richie knelt down, helping his friend to his feet.  
  
        "He's not here because of you…" Ash murmured, wiping his lips free of the grit. His face was a muddy mess, but his thoughts were far from that, dozens of miles away in a cozy cottage where he feared for his family's life. "He's here because he knew I was coming."  
  
        "What?"  
  
        "He's after me. And he's not in the hills…" His mind raced, putting the pieces together at last. "He lured us out here with those attacks. He's headed for…" His eyes widened. Had the premonition been real?  
  
        "Ash…?"  
  
        "Home!" Ash cried out. Without a second to waste, he ripped a ball from his belt, triggering the release catch as he sprinted forward. His other hand began digging through his pocket, finally emerging with a pair of battered old aviator goggles that had belonged to his father once. "Pidgeot, Go!" The ball spit his flier out in a blaze of streaming light, dumping the bird unceremoniously out into the rain. Pidgeot squawked indignantly, until it caught sight of Ash's determined face. "Pidgeot, we need to get home! Fly, now!"  
  
        Pidgeot responded in an instant, activating the power that the second Hidden Machine had given it. The bird wrapped Ash in a warm embrace of amber energy and lifted the boy bodily from the ground. A second later, they were sky bound and hurtling back towards Pallet Town at incredible speed. Ash had moved so quickly, he only distantly heard Richie calling the girls about the dilemma.  
  
        Ash's eyes were squeezed shut behind the lenses of his goggles, his heart racing. 'Please, let them be all right.' He prayed that his imagination was playing tricks on him, that he was just being paranoid. Deep down, though, he knew that such thoughts were only wishful thinking.   
  
        Silently, he willed Pidgeot to move faster, feeling a bright, burning sensation in his stomach. Amazingly, the Pokémon somehow found the power to move even faster. He heard a loud pop as they broke the sound barrier, achieving Mach speeds so quickly that they easily outran the shockwave of the sonic boom. Pidgeot had never moved that quickly before, and the rational part of Ash's mind questioned the speed. However, he was far too worried to be amazed at the bird's performance, and his focus solidified as he spied the sleepy village below them.  
  
        Pidgeot took them down amid the crackling lances of lightning, some of them so close they made Ash's hair stand on end. With widespread wings and amber power, Pidgeot was able to slow them down and give them a feather-light touchdown. Ash didn't even bother to holster his Pokémon as he bolted into the house. The door had been left wide open, which seemed to confirm his worst fears.  
  
        "Mom? Mom!" Ash ran into the house, bolting towards the kitchen. Even though he knew what he would find, his heart still plummeted as he skidded to a halt. There, on the kitchen floor amidst the wreckage of the kitchen table, lay the insensate forms of Brock and Delia. Over on the counter, Mr. Mime was upside down in the sink, his legs hanging limply over the edge of the counter.  
  
        He knelt down by his mother's side, taking her head in his hands. "Mom? Mom, wake up! Mom!" He shook her gently, but she would not stir. Her mouth hung slackened, her brow furrowed. Her eyes fluttered beneath their lids, as if she was trapped in a nightmare, and could not escape.  
  
        Ash felt tears of anger well up in his eyes as he stood up, feeling his fists curl so tightly they began to shake. His eyes rose slowly from the floor, finding their way to the wall on the opposite side of the kitchen. They remained frozen there, unmoving until a new player entered the scene.  
  
        "Ash!" Misty, Pikachu and Dixie burst into the kitchen, soaked just as he was. Water pooled beneath the trio as they stood in the doorway, taking in the same horrors that Ash had a few moments before. Misty strode in, kneeling next to Brock and checking his pulse. She breathed a prayer of thanks as she found a strong, steady beat beneath her friend's skin. "Ash, what happened?"  
  
        "Missingno." Ash murmured, never taking his eyes from the wall. "He was here. He's looking for me."  
  
        "Missingno! He was here? Looking for you?" The questions flew from Misty like bullets from an automatic, bombarding Ash's deaf ears.  
  
        He nodded his head slowly, raising a single finger to point at the object of his focus. His voice could not rise above a hoarse whisper as he spoke: "He was delivering a message."  
  
        Misty's eyes followed his finger. As soon as she caught sight of it, she reared back, her hand flying to her mouth. There, in the soft colors of the kitchen wall, were a series of long, jagged scars that ran deep into the drywall. They formed a single, ominous message, one that filled her with an even greater sense of dread.   
  
        Soon.  
  
=To Be Continued= 


	7. Cheerio

Sorry for the delay in the update. My full apology can be viewed in the review section (which is so sad and empty [insert depressed author image here]). I've been working quite a bit on a collaborative effort with my newfound cohorts, The Elite. Check us out at www.thepokemontower.com under the authorname "The Elite." I kicked off the project myself, and I highly recommend it!  
  
Enough plugs! It's time for what you've been waiting for, right? That's right: More angst and confusion. I promise, though, you'll love me for it in the end. You AAML fans too, though you may hate me first…  
  
Enough foreshadowing! On with the story…  
  
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BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 7=  
  
Growing Pains  
  
Ash hated hospitals. He hated the overpowering white that seeped over every surface, making the place unbearably bright no matter where he looked. He hated the sterilized smell that assaulted his nose. He hated the sight of the sick and the dying, and the squeaking gurneys that wheeled back and forth down the hall, and the muttering doctors with their cryptic little clipboards and horribly cold stethoscopes. Most of all, though, he hated the fact that he was in here more times than he cared to remember.  
  
Pikachu seemed to sense his discomfort as it sat on his shoulder. Looking about, the tiny Pokémon couldn't help but sense how different this place was from a Pokécenter. A Center was a place for Pokémon to heal, but it was also a place of rest, of gathering. Here at the hospital, there were no accommodations for trainers and Pokémon to stay, no sense of community…only illness and gloom hanging like a dark cloud over everyone.  
  
Looking down at the slender, pale form lying prone on the pristine sheets of the hospital bed. For the past hour, he had watched her chest rise and fall with slow, shuddering breaths in complete silence. Part of his brain refused to recognize the sickly, hollow face with eyelids closed and paltry lips drawn tight in a continuous grimace. Her chocolate locks were plastered against her forehead, soaked with a light sheen of sweat.   
  
Her eyes fluttered softly in her unnatural slumber, dancing about in a silent nightmare that forced her muscles to spasm every so often. Though her features were burned into his mind, he could never believe that this person, this ailing woman hooked up to mysterious, beeping machines had brought him into the world and cared for him for as long as he could remember.  
  
"Ash…" Her lips parted slightly, murmuring the name in a sigh as her eyes flickered open. They danced about for a moment before focusing in on the figure hovering above her.  
  
Ash had never moved so quickly in his life as he jolted to his mother's side, so quickly that Pikachu was nearly thrown from its perch. "Mom!" he cried, feeling like he was ten years old again. His hands found its way to hers, clasping her so hard part of him feared he would crush the delicate, willowy woman.   
  
She smiled wanly at him, filling him with a sense of immense relief. "Ash…" she beamed softly, her voice faint, but growing stronger by the second. Her eyes searched about in confusion, suddenly concerned. "What happened? Where am I?"  
  
"You're in the hospital, mom." Ash hesitated with the rest of the truth, unsure of just how much to tell her. He decided to tell her part of the story, at least the part he knew she could handle. "You and Brock passed out. The doctors aren't really sure why…maybe a gas leak, or something."  
  
She seemed to accept this, giving him a small nod. "I'm just glad everyone's all right." she sighed again, this time in relief, as she lay back against the pillow. "I was so worried about all of you, alone out in that storm."  
  
He returned her smile, setting Pikachu down on the bed. Pikachu cried out in happiness, and immediately scampered the length of the bed to rest on her stomach. "Easy, Pikachu!" he scolded the purring Pokémon, even as his partner snuggled down on top of her with a pleasant rumble.  
  
"I don't mind," she smiled, running her hand across the Pokémon's fur. "Maybe Pikachu could keep me a little company while I'm in here." Her face darkened for a moment. "Mister Mime?"  
  
"He's at the Pokécenter," he reassured her. "They say he's going to be fine…"   
  
She relaxed, once more leaning back as she stroked Pikachu. "Thank goodness…" she murmured. "I don't know what I'd do if I was all alone again…"  
  
Ash felt the words punch him in the stomach. He tried to tone down his shock, feeling guilt well up anew. "Mom?"  
  
Delia seemed to realize just what she had said. Her hand quickly found its way to Ash's arm, rubbing it reassuringly. "No, no, sweetie." she cooed in a motherly voice. "It's fine. I'm fine, remember?"  
  
He took her hand, squeezing it even as he tried to muster a smile. "I didn't know you were lonely, mom…"  
  
"Well, with your father…gone, and you off adventuring, I don't get to see my family much anymore." his mother admitted. "But I understand, sweetie. You're growing up. Leaving your old life behind is only natural, after all."  
  
Ash was speechless, which was quite the rarity for the outspoken trainer. His mother was lonely? She felt like he was abandoning her? Why was she choosing now, of all times, when he had so much to deal with, to tell him this?  
  
"Are you all right, Ash?" his mother looked at him with a face full of concern.  
  
The guilt piled higher on Ash's heavy heart as he put on his bravest face, hiding from his mother behind another layer of lies. "Just fine, Mom. Couldn't be better."  
  
***  
  
"Couldn't be better!" Brock said cheerfully, leaning back against a trio of comfortable pillows in his tilted bed. He slurped on a box of juice, idly flipping through television channels with his other hand. He gave Misty an encouraging smile as she sat by his bedside, broadcasting worry like a soap opera. "The doctors say I'll probably be released after a few tests come back. Heck, this is the first chance I've had in a while to take a break from all this 'demon hunting' we've been doing."  
  
Misty brushed at her unnatural black locks, feeling a wave of relief extinguish the hot coals of worry that had burned in her stomach. "I should have known," she said with a laugh. "Only you could enjoy yourself in the hospital."  
  
"Hey," he countered, "You and Ash have been in and out of them so much in the past few months, I'm actually kind of relieved to be on this end." He set the remote down, picking up a small switch attached to the bed. "And you haven't even seen the best part yet!"  
  
Misty frowned, puzzled as he pressed the switch's only button. His eyebrows waggled as he nodded towards the door. Within seconds, the white portal swung open, revealing a tall, attractive nurse with long red hair and a mini-skirt that accentuated her graceful legs.  
  
"Is there something you needed, Mr. Stone?" she asked sweetly, smiling at her charge.  
  
Misty's eyes rolled in annoyance as Brock's face split in a grin broad enough to bridge the gap between Johto and Japan. "Not right now," he said, "But I have been working on those samples the doctors wanted." He indicated a small beaker sitting on the bedside table, filled with an ominous yellow liquid.  
  
"Of course." The nurse reached over and took the beaker, exiting with another smile.  
  
Brock looked at Misty, his grin still present. "See? Better than cable!"  
  
"You're pathetic." Misty swatted him, chuckling along with her old friend. "If you didn't have me to keep you in check, your romantic life would involve nothing but drooling at the first piece of meat that walked by."  
  
He snorted, returning the swat. "You're one to talk. Just look at your situation with Ash!"  
  
"Brock!" she cried, her eyes growing wide. She punched him in the arm, looking over her shoulder as if she expected the object of her infatuation to be standing right behind her, leering at the pair and ready to laugh at her. Ash was nowhere to be seen, of course, but that didn't dampen her paranoia.  
  
"Hey, relax." he shrugged, taking another long drag of juice that emptied the box. "I'm just saying, is all; Practice what you preach."  
  
"Easy for you to say." And say it he had, about a million times. Maybe he was right, though…Maybe she had blown this whole thing out of proportion. It was possible that she was just the victim of an ill-timed crush, couldn't it?  
  
"It's like I've always said." He smiled, tossing the juice box on the floor. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he leaned back with a comfortable groan, and continued, "I mean, you might as well be honest with him. Your entire life revolves around him, after all."  
  
The words burned into Misty like a hot brand. They sunk into her, rotting her from the inside as surely as if they were the poison she felt them to be. "W-what?"  
  
"Y'know, it's kind of pathetic…" he sighed, then burped loudly. "You follow Ash across the globe like a lost puppy, begging for his attention. By the time you figure out he'll never love you, you won't have anything left." She felt her jaw dropping, but said nothing as he continued thoughtlessly. "You need to decide what to do with your life already. Get on with it, break the cycle. Go out and be adventurous!"  
  
Misty fought back tears, trembling with anger and shock. Never, not once in their time together, had Brock ever said such horrible things to her. "I just want you to know," she said slowly and evenly, "That if you weren't in a hospital bed, I would 'put' you in one." As it was, she could barely restrain herself from removing his teeth with a pair of pliers and making a necklace out of them.  
  
He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning further into the pillow. "Hey," he shrugged, "I'm just saying this for your own good. I'm your friend, and I want what's best for you." A small chuckle escaped his lips. "You'll see. You just need to figure out what you want to do."  
  
Misty stood up, rubbing her thighs. Suddenly, she didn't feel like talking. "I'm going to go check on Ash's mom." she said shortly. Glancing down at the discarded juice box, she asked, "You just going to leave it there?"  
  
"I figure I'll ask that nurse to get it when she comes back." He waggled his brow again suggestively. Misty just rolled her eyes and exited as he pulled another juice box out, readying another sample for the doctors.  
  
***  
  
Her eyes immediately picked him out of the hustle and bustle of the hospital's hallway as she exited Brock's room. 'Here's more bad news,' she sighed inwardly as she saw Ash occupying a bench not to far from the door. His head hung low, almost between his knees, with his hat tugged low over his brow. She could almost feel the waves of depression pounding against her as she approached him.  
  
Just looking at him, Misty couldn't help but be reminded of just how screwed up she was. Even with everything that had happened-perhaps because of it-her first, strongest impulse was to take the young man in her arms and comfort him. She wanted nothing more than to hold him close, to tell him that everything would be all right. No…She wanted to tell him so much more than that. Brock had been right; If she wasn't honest with Ash, if she didn't tell him how she felt, she would explode.  
  
"Hey," she heard herself say as she sat down, operating on autopilot while her head swam with dizzying emotion. "Is your mom all right?"  
  
He nodded, never looking up. "Yeah. Pikachu's watching out for her right now." His hands wrung together with slow, unsteady twists. Every now and then one of his knuckles would crack, piercing the oppressive silence between the two. It seemed like an eternity before he asked, "How's Brock."  
  
"He's…Brock." Misty admitted with a miniscule smile. She looked over, hoping to see some kind of reaction, but Ash hadn't moved. "You okay?"  
  
There was another long pause before Ash answered. "Have you noticed how much things are changing?" he asked with a small voice. "And how much they've begun to suck?"  
  
His quivering voice surprised Misty a little. So many times in their time together, Ash had proven to be stronger of heart, sharper of mind, and greater of spirit than any challenge he faced. She sometimes had to remind herself that he was almost two years younger than her, only sixteen on the verge of seventeen. Despite all his accomplishments, Ash Ketchum was still very much a boy trying to become a man. Now he was up against a challenge greater than any they had come across in their seven years together. What he needed now, more than anything, was a strong friend to stand at his side. He needed her friendship.  
  
If only she didn't love him so much.  
  
"Things always change, Ash." Misty reassured him. Without hesitation, she placed her arm around his shoulder, leaning down with him. "That's the way it works."  
  
"Am I abandoning everyone?" He blurted the question without thinking, saying the first thing on his mind. "Am I…letting everyone down?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Ash sat up, meeting Misty's eyes. She found her shock doubling when she saw his amber eyes glossed over with tears, barely held in check. "My mom was left all alone when I left. Just like my dad…And when we were in the hills, Giselle said something about…about everyone picking up the slack when…if I failed."  
  
Misty kept her anger in check by envisioning the beating she would give Giselle later. For the moment, she said, "Forget all of that. We should concentrate on the problem at hand."  
  
"It's too much, Misty." Ash murmured. "It's too much." His shoulders slumped forward in defeat, his eyes once more staring down at his shoes. The old spark that had filled each word, each syllable with enthusiasm, was nowhere to be found. "I've never been so afraid. I've nearly lost Brock, and Mom, and…you."  
  
Her bones ached where the regeneration treatments had knitted them back together less than a week ago. The doctors had assured her that there wouldn't be any lasting scars from her incredible encounter with Exile. Looking at Ash, wracked with guilt and pressure, she began to think that the scars weren't hers to bear anymore.  
  
"What happened to all of us has nothing to do with you." she said slowly in a low, serious voice. "You have to stop-"  
  
"Excuse me…" A young nurse tapped Misty on the shoulder, drawing her away from Ash. He possessed a shock of soft blue hair kept tied back behind his head, and a ready smile spread on his features. His blue scrubs hung immaculate off of a wiry frame as he leaned over, holding a small piece of paper between his fingers. "Are either one of you Ash Ketchum?"  
  
Ash looked up, resettling his face into a facade of calm, emotionless peace. "That's me." he nodded, accepting the paper.  
  
"Message for you." The nurse said simply, backing away with another smile and disappearing into the constant flow of people in the hallway.  
  
Ash unfolded the paper as Misty watched. His eyes scanned across the tiny message, his face evolving into different expressions; first confusion set in, soon followed by his brows knitting together in anger. Finally, he crumpled the paper and tossed it over his shoulder, letting it bounce against the wall and onto the small, hard bench. He jumped to his feet and began stalking off without so much as a goodbye in Misty's direction.  
  
"Ash, wait!" Misty tried to follow, but the traffic swallowed him up too quickly, and she found herself trapped behind an empty gurney. By the time the med techs had wheeled by, Ash was gone. Dejected, she sat back down, taking the small balled-up message in hand. Carefully, she unfolded the paper. "What in the…"  
  
Out back. Alone. Now.  
  
"Ash…" she muttered, frowning with worry. It felt as though she had been doing that a lot lately. "Don't do anything stupid…"  
  
***  
  
The blue-haired nurse rounded the corner, joining one of his associates dressed in pristine white. "How are things going on your end, Jessie?"  
  
Jessie held a small vial of rancid yellow liquid, keeping it as far away from her body as possible. "I'm holding a canister of distilled twerp. How does it look?"  
  
"Um…I actually meant if you found out anything useful." James pulled a face as Jessie set the vial down on an unused gurney. "You know…something to maybe put us back in the Boss's good graces."  
  
She sighed, folding her bare arms across the snug-fitting nurse's uniform. Though the outfit covered more than her Team Rocket uniform, she still felt naked without her long vinyl gloves. Her hair felt confined in the enormous pony tail, and she knew James felt the same about his own blue locks. Hopefully, the mission would be over soon, and they could go back to dressing as usual and trying to steal Pikachu. "James," she lamented, "I'm having a hard time remembering when we 'were' in his good graces."  
  
He nodded, having a seat next to the Brock juice. "I know what you mean," he said glumly. "It's like I said earlier…Things used to be a lot simpler."  
  
"Well," Jessie said after a moment's thought, "At least you and I haven't changed." She graced him with a rare smile, which he gladly returned. He took her hand in his, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "We still have that, right?"  
  
"Oh, gimme a break!" a loud, indignant squawk echoed from above them. They looked up in unison to see a shadowy face peering down at them from behind the metal grate of an air duct. The face faded away, replaced with a foot that kicked the panel down at their heads. Before they could even yelp in surprise, Meowth tumbled down, landing in a face-plant on the immaculate tile.   
  
As he stood and brushed himself off, Jessie reached out and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. "Meowth!" she hissed, "What in blazes are you doing?"  
  
"We said co-vert, not oh-vert, you idiotic fleabag!" James added, turning red in the face. "Can't you do anything right?"  
  
"Relax…" Meowth broke Jessie's grip and produced a pair of sunglasses and a small cane. "If anyone asks, we'll just tell 'em I'm a Meowth for da blind."  
  
"That's not how it…oh, nevermind." Jessie snapped, exasperated. "Did 'you' learn anything important?"  
  
"Eh," the feline shrugged, tossing away his props. "Pikachu is hanging out with da twerp's momma. He'd be easy for da takin', since Jimmy-Boy here just got rid o' da twerp himself."  
  
Jessie nodded. "That was uncharacteristically brilliant of you, James. Did you have some kind of plan in mind?"  
  
Looking abashed, James said, "Actually, that was a real message. Someone at the front desk asked for an orderly to run a message, and I recognized the name, so I thought I'd find out what it was about."  
  
"Hey, not bad, Jimmy!" Meowth crowed. "Sure beat Jessie shakin' her tail for dat bigger twerp!"  
  
Jessie eyed Meowth disgustedly, then handed him the vial. "Here, Meowth," she said with exaggerated sugar dripping from her voice, "Have some lemonade." She looked back to James with anticipation as Meowth gladly accepted the jar of liquid. "Well?" Jessie broke first, staring at him insistently. "What did the note say?"  
  
"What? Oh." James rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes of the duo. "I, uh…I didn't read it. I just delivered it."  
  
"Wonderful," Jessie groused, bopping James atop his head. "Just wonderful. Aren't we a productive group today."  
  
"I wonder what the message was about, anyway…" James mused aloud, inadvertently invoking Jessie's full wrath.  
  
"…Hey, dis isn't lemonade! It's…AUGH!"  
  
***  
  
Ash tugged his jacket tighter around his slim shoulders. The rain was unrelenting, and pounding noisily against the bill of his tattered cap. His feet stuck in the mud with each slogging step as he made his way around the exterior of Pallet's plain, modest hospital.  
  
The darkness cloaked the land in every direction, like a suffocating blanket draped across his home town. He fought off a chill, wondering who had dragged him out in the middle of a storm to talk. With a small spark of his faded humor he hoped that Missingno had suddenly learned how to write notes.  
  
A few more steps, and he was standing in the middle of the empty parking lot. The distant sound of ambulances howling over the sound of the rain and the wind made him wonder if the demon had struck again while he was wasting time there.  
  
"Hello?" He cupped his hands to his mouth, bellowing as loudly as he could. Only a handful of cars were around to hear them, and they did not listen. "If this is a trap, I'll just tell you right now, I have a Charizard, and we're both really ticked-off!"  
  
There were several moments of silence after that. He began to feel foolish shouting at thin air. Furious, frustrated, wet, he pounded the hood of a lime green Gremlin. "Stupid!" he spat at himself. He felt like an idiot, standing out in the middle of a parking lot, shouting at thin air. He struck the green monstrosity once again, kicking at its paneling and leaving a sizable dent.  
  
"It's not the car's fault. It's an import."  
  
Ash turned to find a figure melt into view from the darkness, hands tucked into an obsidian trench coat that obscured the rest of his body. The man (Ash knew him so by voice alone) approached him slowly, his feet sliding out of the coat's swishing folds with each step. Squinting through the downpour, Ash felt disconcerted as the man's features refused to coalesce. At first, he thought it was a trick of the light, or lack thereof. As he drew closer, Ash realized that it was not; The man's entire face was a mask of black, hiding even his eyes.  
  
"Miss me?" Ash thought he saw the mask stretch around the man's mouth, betraying a possible smile. "It's been a while."  
  
"Solo!" Ash's eyes narrowed beneath his cap, glaring at the mysterious intruder. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Same thing as you, I imagine," she shrugged, casually ignoring the rain. "Getting wet, seeing the sights, fighting evil…The usual."  
  
"Do you know anything about Missingno?" Ash was in no mood to pussyfoot around.  
  
The mask stretched in another infuriating smile. "Plenty. But I'm staying out of this one, 'Chosen One'."  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"Because," he said patiently, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, "It's not my problem, and it's not my fight. Besides, demons give me the heebie-jeebies." He leaned back against a car, casually stretching his arms above his head.   
  
Solo's calm voice, so indifferent to the situation, was enough to make Ash want to pound his non-face in. His knuckles cracked as his fists trembled at his side. "If you know how to stop Missingno," he fumed, trying his best to keep his voice down, "Then tell me."  
  
"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."  
  
"I can make you." Ash told him.  
  
Solo laughed at this. "You could try," he chortled, "But I imagine it's harder to fight a demon when your arms are broken." He grew serious after a moment, his laughter trailing off as he stood straight once more. "Look, I didn't come here to trade barbs with you, kid. I came to warn you."  
  
"About the demon?" Ash snapped snidely. "Yeah. Thanks. I got that part."  
  
"Don't take the demon lightly, Ketchum."  
  
Pointing furiously back at the building, Ash spat, "My mother and best friend are in there right now because of that monster, and you think I'm taking this lightly?!"  
  
"You're in more danger than you realize."  
  
Ash couldn't contain his fury anymore. His barely-contained fury dissolved into a fit of shouts, with his arms waving high above his head. "Just once," he shouted, "I wish someone would give me a straight answer when it comes to these demon things!"  
  
But Solo was already melting into the shadows, stepping backwards the way he came. "I have faith in you, Chosen One." Solo told him solemnly. "Your father was quite the Disciple, and I see a lot of him in you."  
  
For what felt like the millionth time that day, Ash felt his jaw drop in utter shock. Solo had appeared out of nowhere into his life, spouting off innuendos to all of Ash's darkest secrets without really telling him anything. He had possessed the fourth Hidden Machine, and had given it to Ash willingly. Now he was telling the boy that he had known Seth Ketchum before his death. What else did he know?  
  
"WAIT!" Ash cried desperately, sprinting into the shadows after the mysterious figure. He was too late; Solo had already vanished into the night without a trace. Somehow, the disgusting slurry of mud beneath his feet showed no tracks, no markings…nothing. "Come back here! How do you know my father? Answer me!"  
  
Lightning flashed around him in the distance, briefly dispelling the darkness that encircled Ash like an oppressive cloak. He looked up, baring his teeth in a half-scream, half-moan of disappointment as his arms spread wide. The heavens shook and roared with thunder, and he roared back at them, back at the vanished Solo, at the unseen demon that hunted him and toyed with him.  
  
"ANSWER ME!"  
  
=To Be Continued=  
  
NEXT- It's the fight you've been waiting for, the beginning of the end of BadgeQuest as you know it: The battle with Missingno begins next time on Pokémon: BadgeQuest! 


	8. TaTa

BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Add a Pinch of Evil…  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Misty stood in the kitchen, doing two of the many things she had promised herself she would never do; she was baking, and she was doing it in Brock's frilly pink apron.  
  
Hunched over a cookbook at the kitchen counter, she used one hand to run a delicate finger across the page, following the recipe's cryptic instructions as best as she could. Her other arm circled lazily above a bowl, running one of Mrs. Ketchum's large, wooden spoons through a thick mass of brown goo. Dixie sat nearby at the kitchen table, with the far easier task of whipping together an icing. It had been Misty's idea to whip together a welcome-home cake for their returning hospital attendees, and the blond bombshell had reluctantly agreed, albeit wordlessly.  
  
'She's still not speaking to me…' Misty lamented silently, throwing a cup of beaten eggs into the mix and stirring sullenly. Dixie hadn't spoken to her since the incident between them hunting for Missingno, at least no more than necessary. Misty had tried starting up a couple of conversations while baking, but the foreigner had only grunted in response.   
  
"So," Misty cleared her throat nervously as she dusted her hands clean, "I've been thinking about keeping the black." She tugged on one of her bangs, coating it in a thin sheen of white flour. "It makes me look gothic, doesn't it?"  
  
Dixie gave her a look that could curdle milk.  
  
Shivering from the cold shoulder, Misty felt her iron resolve set in. They needed to get this out of the way, right there and then. Brushing the rest of the ingredients into handprints on her apron, she pulled up a seat next to Dixie, resting on her elbows. "You know," Misty said, "You can be mad at me forever, but that doesn't change one simple fact."  
  
"What's that?" Dixie grunted.  
  
"Ash picked you."  
  
Dixie was silent for a moment, contemplating Misty's words. She blinked her luminous green eyes at the raven-haired redhead, who waited with bated breath. Then, as slowly as the dawning sun, her features began to soften. "You promise y'all ain't trying to steal him away from me?"  
  
"Dixie," Misty crossed her heart with a wan smile, "I've had almost seven years to take that road. We already tried it, and it didn't work out so well. Besides," she added, hiding the pain that the words really caused her, "I can tell he really likes you." When Dixie said nothing at this, Misty pressed her attack. "He gets this little gleam in his eye, kind of like a sparkle."  
  
"…really?"  
  
She could feel the temperature in the room dropping as Dixie spoke hesitantly, looking to her at last with those large, lustrous eyes. She could almost feel the ice breaking between them, and all it took was for her to break her own little heart. "Really truly," Misty assured her with a forced smile.   
  
With that, the last of the tension in the room dissolved as the two girls began speaking again. They talked excitedly about the last two days' events, each expressing similar fear and worry about their little circle. Though Misty was annoyed that she was the one having to deal with Ash's girlfriend's insecurities, she decided that she could suck it up and take one for him, just this once. She just hoped he appreciated it.  
  
"Can I ask you something?" Dixie asked out of the blue.  
  
"Before you say anything," Misty assured her with a suave wink, "Yes, these are my natural eyes, and no, I don't swing that way."  
  
Laughing, Dixie managed another smile. She really had missed talking to Misty, and wasn't really angry at her for loving Ash. After all, she was guilty of the same, wasn't she? "No, not that…though I wonder what Ash would think of that..."  
  
"It's make Ash's head spin just to think about." Misty giggled.  
  
"What I wanted to ask was, how did you and Ash meet?"  
  
The question brought pause to Misty's good cheer. "Meet?"  
  
"You know," Dixie encouraged her, leaning forward. "When y'all-"  
  
"Yeah, I get the concept." Misty said quickly. She rose from her seat, retrieving a pan from the cupboard to put the cake batter in. "Why did you want to know that?"  
  
"Dunno. But I've been thinking about it." Dixie let loose with a wistful sigh, pulling her spoon from the now-thick frosting. "What was he like back then?"  
  
Misty considered the question for a moment. If anything, she should have been asking Ash about this. But then again, why ruin their first conversation in nearly two days? "He was…difficult." She decided at last. "Ash and I met just a few miles outside of Pallet Town, down by an old creek I was fishing out of…"  
  
***  
  
The atmosphere upstairs was far more depressing and dark, emanating from the room of the girls' topic of conversation. Ash lay on the top bunk of his bed, looking up at the ceiling, oblivious to the world and far beyond caring. His hand was wrapped around the baseball he had rescued from his father's secret stash, rolling it in his fingers absently. Pikachu lay at his feet, mirroring its trainer's mood. The Pokémon hadn't moved in hours, just like Ash. Together, they created nearly enough gloom to summon their own personal, localized storm cloud.  
  
"Hey, Ash!" Dexter sang from Ash's desktop, where the boy had discarded his mechanical wonders after their visit to the hospital. "Why don't we play a game?"  
  
Ash remained silent, his mind a million miles away.  
  
"Oh-kay…" Dexter drawled, muttering quietly to Gear. "Time to kick it up a notch."  
  
"Leave the boy alone, Dex." Gear hissed.  
  
She should have known better. "All right, Ash, gloomy time is over, fun time starts now!" Dexter pleaded loudly (actually, Dexter did 'everything' loudly), "You can't spend the rest of your life in bed, moping just because some nut in a mask and a spooky cloud-demon are running around making your life miserable, can we? Let's sing a song!"  
  
There was a pause, and then Ash spoke. "Pokédex: Initiate sleep mode, override auto-failsafe."  
  
There was a small cry of protest that died quickly as the Pokédex shut down, forced into an unwilling sleep. Ash rolled over without another word, returning to his silent pity party.  
  
"Well…" Gear said dryly, "Now that the peanut gallery is quiet…" Had Gear been a human, she would have regarded Ash with sadness and concern. As it was, she could only work with words and pauses, which she did with surprising mastery considering her relatively youthful age. "Ash, dear," she began, "We are all very concerned about you. You are not acting like yourself anymore."  
  
"…Pokégear," Ash muttered, "Initiate-"  
  
"Wait!" Gear cried desperately, "Please do not shut me off, Ash." Ash didn't speak further, allowing Gear to remain active for the moment. "Ash…You are not yourself anymore."  
  
"…Then who am I?"  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
Ash Ketchum, destined savior of humanity, champion of the helpless, all around good guy with bright, shiny teeth, spat disgustedly at his sentient radio wrist-phone with a tone to scorch stone. "If I want to be miserable, I will. I have every right to be."  
  
Gear was silent, contemplating Ash's mumbled, venomous words. Finally, she said, "Fascinating." She sensed Ash wouldn't inquire further, so she pressed on, "Your response is not at all what I have come to expect from you, Ash."  
  
"Yeah," Ash said bitterly, "I've been getting that a lot lately."  
  
The device ran a brief examination, just to make sure. "A voice analysis indicates that you are indeed Ashlan T. Ketchum. However, all of the previous-"  
  
"I GET it, Gear, okay?" Ash snapped again, rolling over and glaring at the talkative device on his desk. "What do you want from me?"  
  
"Ash…" Gear murmured, almost sounding hurt. "We do not want anything from you. All of your friends and family, myself and Dexter included, are concerned about you. We only wish you to be happy."  
  
"Happy? That's a joke!" He rolled back over, snubbing her. He recalled a favorite phrase his parents used to tell him when he was little. "If wishes were fishes, we'd all be slapped by Magicarp." The bitterness began to well up inside of him, pouring from a deep pool that had no bottom. He had failed his mother, he had failed his friends… "All I ever wanted was to be a normal kid." he decided with a dismayed sigh. "All I ever wanted was to be-"  
  
"The greatest Pokémon Master?" The words cut him short, coming from the tiny, mysterious device. He listened in silence as she continued, "The best there ever was? Hasn't that always been your dream?"  
  
More silence.  
  
"Ash…I know I have not known you long. Not long at all, in fact. However, in that short time, you have shown me so much…You have taught me that humans, even with their short life spans and the limits of flesh, are capable of great things. Tremendous things. Bravery. Strength. Compassion…even towards forms of life you do not understand."  
  
Ash knew exactly who she was talking about with that last part. He rolled over, glancing down from his high horse of pity on the top bunk. "Gear…"  
  
"You saved me from deletion, Ash." Gear told him in no uncertain terms. "You have saved many people. I know firsthand, at least recently, that it has not been easy. From what I have heard," she said, "It has never been easy. So logically, one can assume that it will never get any easier."  
  
He hung on the edge of indecision, biting his lip. "I…Gear, I-"  
  
Something within Gear buzzed, overriding her stirring, compelling speech with an automatic program. It was an incoming signal, cellular in nature. Such a simple call only took Gear an instant to recognize and analyze. "Incoming call," she reported dutifully, her programming overriding her consciousness for a moment, "Narcissa, Giselle. Kanto Region, Pallet Zone."  
  
Ash jumped down, curiosity burning away at his own self-loathing. His socks slipped on the hardwood floors as he skidded towards the desk, bumping heavily into the corner. With a muttered curse, he picked Gear up and pressed the control to open the channel. Gear could have done so on her own, given the proper (and polite) request, but waited instead for Ash to be ready. "What do you want?"  
  
"Ash!" the terrified scream filtered through a haze of static. It was odd, hearing that tone of horror coming from something that usually sounded aloof and superior. "Oh God, Ash, I'm out in the hills, I found him!"  
  
"You WHAT?" Ash exploded into the tiny device, clutching it tightly in front of his face. "Missingno?!"   
  
"No, you idiot, your mom! YES!" Her voice sniped. "I need help, I need you to come and…oh my God…"  
  
"Giselle?" A bloodcurdling scream split from Gear's speakers, followed by a hiss of static. "GISELLE!" The signal suddenly cut out, freeing Gear's mind. "Gear, where did that signal-"  
  
"Already traced the call, Ash." Gear told him. "She was right where she said she was. Pallet Hills, coordinates-"  
  
"Save it." Ash strapped her to his wrist. He picked up Dexter, thumbing the power switch. "Let's get ready to motor, guys."  
  
"You know," Dexter groused as he came to life, "I'm really tired of you just switching me-"  
  
"Later." Ash grabbed his coat and hat from the bedpost, throwing the garments on in a flash before strapping his Pokébelt to his waist. His full team was assembled; Charizard, Wartortle, Ivysaur, Pidgeot and Articuno. There was just one missing. "Pikachu."  
  
The lethargic mouse raised its head, still curled up on his sheets. "Pi?"  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Instantly, the mouse was at his side, a trail of sparks following his jagged tail as he zoomed to the floor. Ash started for the door, doggedly determined. Then he stopped, listening to the giggling, giddy voices downstairs. A pair of names whispered from his lips sent his mind spinning.  
  
"Ash, what is it?" Gear asked.  
  
"Yeah, c'mon!" Dexter, oblivious to Giselle's call, was more than a little irritated. "What's the sitch?"  
  
If he went downstairs, Misty and Dixie would want to know where he was going. And as sure as the sun would rise again, he wouldn't be able to lie to 'both' of them face to face at the same time.  
  
"Hel-loooooo? Handheld genius computer to Ah-ash!" Dexter called.  
  
"Pi?"  
  
He wasn't about to involve them again, whether they liked it or not. He wasn't going to let his family down. He wouldn't let them be hurt again.  
  
A split second after he made the decision, his feet were already carrying him to the window. He knew the house like the back of his hand; there was a lattice right outside of his window that would lead him down to the ground, slick with rain though it was. He had used it a hundred times in his youth, sneaking out and in after hours without his parents' knowledge. He only prayed that it would hold his weight one last time.   
  
"We're taking a different route." he told them, sliding the window open. Rain and wind poured in through the opening. Flashes of lightning painted ominous shadows onto his face as he squirmed outward, climbing out the window and gripping the lattice with strong, sure fingers. For the first time in days, he felt a strange calm coming over him as he climbed down. Pikachu, more nimble than its trainer, simply jumped the distance to the ground, landing with a wet squelch in several inches of mud which quickly stained its immaculate fur coat.  
  
An invisible tug caught Ash's heart as he reached the ground. Looking over, he caught sight of a warm light trickling out from the kitchen window. Greater warmth bathed him with invisible sensations as he stepped cautiously towards the window, ignoring the pounding drops of rain that beat against his clothes and hat. Without looking, he knew what the feeling was; Misty. He could feel her happiness stronger than anything, overpowering the gloom of the constant storm, stronger even than his own misery. He didn't understand how or why he knew, he just…'knew'. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.  
  
"Stay safe," Ash murmured one last farewell, a smile ghosting onto his lips for an instant. "Both of you." With one last throb of his heart, he was gone into the night, gone to do battle.  
  
***  
  
"And then," Misty doubled over with laughter, clonking her forehead on the table. That only made Dixie laugh harder, sending both of them into peals of laughter that nearly toppled them. "And then he ran full-bore into me from around the corner!"  
  
"Wearing the-"  
  
"Wearing the blindfold!" Misty hooted, slapping the table. "I asked Brock about it after that. He said…" Misty was laughing so hard, she couldn't even speak. Her breath came in ragged gasps between bouts of fitful laughs.  
  
"What did Brock say?" Dixie answered between guffaws. "What on Earth was he doing walking around with-"  
  
"Hold on," Misty gasped, her face beet-red from laughing. "Hold on. Gimmie a second." She managed to calm down, recapturing her breath. Once she was ready, she continued with barely-restrained amusement. "Brock said he was going to let destiny pick the perfect date for him. He pointed himself at a big crowd and was going to walk blind until he bumped into someone."  
  
Dixie wiped away the tears her laughter had brought with it. "And he bumped into you?"  
  
"Yeah, but first…" Misty's resolve was starting to break down once more as laughter crept into the edges of her words. "First, he ended up walking like three blocks. Brock and Pikachu chased him through Main Street traffic before he slammed into me and they caught up!"  
  
"Are you serious?" Dixie gaped, resting her chin on her hands as she leaned on the table. "That's insane! Ash could have been killed or something."  
  
"Yeah," Misty chuckled, taking a quick peek at the cake to check on their baking endeavor. It was golden and delicious, so she pulled it from the oven and set it upon the table to frost. "But that's one of the great things about Ash. He was born under a lucky star."  
  
***  
  
Rain pelted against Ash's ancient aviator goggles, blurring the dark, murky world as it sped beneath him and his Poké-team. He and Pikachu rocketed through the air next to Pidgeot, held aloft by the Pokémon's mysterious Hidden Machine power of flight. Raising his wrist to his face, he shouted to be heard over the wind that roared around them as they traveled at near-Mach speeds. "Gear," he bellowed, "How far to the triangulation point?"  
  
"Approaching it now, Ash."   
  
Gear's voice sounded normal, but was heavily amplified so that he could hear her. Dexter, however, opted to shout just as Ash had. Somehow, Dex always found the most irritating, obnoxious way of doing anything, even basic communication. "I'M SCANNING FOR ICKY THINGS, BOSS," he hollered, "BUT SO FAR ALL I'M PICKING UP IS-"  
  
"There!" Ash jabbed a finger downward. His sharp eyes had caught sight of a dark shape lying prone on a hillside. It could have been a trap set by Missingno, or it could have been Giselle, yet again the victim of the demon's attacks. They were too high up to tell.   
  
Ash reached out, brushing Pidgeot's wing to attract the bird's attention. At Pidgeot's questioning glance, he pointed downward, using hand signals he had worked on with all of his Pokémon to warn the bird to be careful. With a trill in reply, Pidgeot angled itself in, taking its passengers with it. They circled the target as they descended, rapidly slowing in their dive until they were low enough and slow enough for Pidgeot to release them from the Fly technique.  
  
Ash tumbled to the ground, shoulder-rolling in the mud and coming up on his feet. Pikachu skidded to a halt next to him, kicking up a small wave of the gunk. Sparks flew from its cheeks in anticipation of the battle to come as Pidgeot took up flanking position on the other side of their trainer, wings poised to strike and eyes locked on the unmoving shape.  
  
His Pokédex was in his hand before he had finished standing, sending out invisible scans as Ash pulled the goggles from his eyes. He quickly twisted his reversed cap back around, bringing the bill to block some of the pounding, merciless raindrops that assaulted them all. "Dex?"  
  
"It's human." Dexter told Ash quickly, giving him a heat scan on the built-in display. "Female, age sixteen to twenty-two. Quite the looker, too. Wanna see the X-Ray? She's got great-"  
  
"That'll do, Dexter. That'll do." Ash said quickly, tucking him back in his pocket but leaving him active. "Keep an eye out for Missingno. He's close…I can feel him." It wasn't just an expression Ash was spouting; he felt a dark tingle at the base of his skull, the same one he had felt the first time Missingno lurked through the caverns of Mount Moon.  
  
"If Oogie Boogie's within a parsec of us, you'll be the first person to know about it, Ash." Dexter assured him from within his jacket.  
  
Ash approached the dark shape cautiously, his eyes quickly growing accustom to the dank light filtering through the storm clouds. As he drew within a few meters, it became obvious that the shape was indeed Giselle. Her dark hair pooled from the back of her poncho's hood, half-buried in mud that seeped around the edges of her body and covered most of her clothes. There could be no doubt that she was in trouble; the Giselle Ash knew would never allow herself to grow so mussed unless it were life-and-death.   
  
"Giselle?" he called as he drew near, now more confident. "Are you all right?" Though she could have been hurt, he still moved with slow, cautious steps. Senses he never knew he had screamed at him, telling him that something was wrong. "Say something, Giselle. Please…" But try as he might, she would not wake up.  
  
***  
  
"You must know Ash inside and out by now," Dixie said wistfully, feeling another stab of envy attack her from within. She knew she had nothing to be jealous of, and yet…Ash and Misty had a bond that she might never have with him. It was the kind of bond that only a lifetime together could form.  
  
Misty, for her part, nodded with chagrin pooling on her face. "You could say that." she agreed readily, adding, "Though I don't know if that's a good thing."  
  
"Oh come on," Dixie snorted. "You've already admitted that you love him. Unless you're a great liar, and you think I have horrible taste in men."  
  
That drew a snorting laugh from the once-redhead. "Well, if you're going to make it personal," Misty drawled wryly.  
  
Leaning forward, Dixie pressed for more. "What do you like best about him?"  
  
Misty's eyebrows shot up. "Curious much?"  
  
"Just comparing notes."  
  
"Well," Misty said graciously, leaning back in thought, "There are a lot of things I like about Ash. For one thing," she ticked off on her fingers, "He always knows what to do, even when the chips are down."  
  
***  
  
Ash had no idea what to do. He leaned over Giselle's still form, grasping her gently at the shoulder and rolling her onto her back. Her delicate features were covered in mud, which the rain was already working at to wash away. A besides the filth, though, she appeared fine; her features were peaceful and serene, as if she were simply taking a nap.  
  
For a split-second, Ash wondered if he should call the paramedics. But no; they hadn't been able to do anything for her the first time, and had been just as clueless with Brock and his mother. Maybe that was what Missingno wanted…more victims to be drawn in. It was bad enough that he had led Ash all the way out here.  
  
He turned back to his battle-ready Pokémon, who were still a few strides away in case something bad went down. "Pikachu, Pidgeot," he said in his commanding tone, "Scout the area. Don't go far, and see if you can-"  
  
***  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Well," Misty smiled to herself as her walk down memory lane took her to happier times, "For another thing, you can't surprise him. It's annoying sometimes, but he's never caught with his pants down when you're in trouble."  
  
***  
  
The fist caught Ash completely off-guard, snapping his head around in mid-command so violently, his body had no choice to follow. He spun through the air before crashing back onto the cold, wet ground, lying in a heap. Stars exploded behind his eyes, matching the pain that was radiating from his chin. He distantly heard Pikachu cry out, and felt the ground tremble with approaching footsteps.  
  
When he finally managed to pull his face out of the mud, he looked over to where Giselle had been laying helplessly. She was helpless no more, sitting up and rubbing her fist. Her cold eyes were fixed on Ash, underscored by a wide, malicious grin. "Surprised, Disciple?" she asked melodiously.  
  
"Giselle?" Ash gaped in disbelief as the two combatants rose to their feet, one smiling wickedly, the other rubbing his jaw and more confused than anything. "What in blazes are you doing?"  
  
Her answer was to reach down to her own Pokébelt, ripping off a pair of red and white spheres. Thumbing the triggers, she hurled them past Ash, materializing a vicious Marowack and a Geodude. "Get the Pokémon. Knock them out." she commanded.   
  
Instantly, the two Pokémon leapt forward, pairing off to use their elemental advantage to the fullest; Marowack began tossing its Bonemerang at Pidgeot, while Geodude barreled in on Pikachu. Pidgeot took to the air to avoid the vicious Ground attack, already sending waves of useless Gusts at the grounded, armored warrior. Pikachu was fairing equally as bad, sending waves of electricity ricocheting off of Geodude's rock hard, non-conductive exterior.  
  
"Have you gone off your nut?" Ash demanded, leaping forward to catch her wrists before she could call forth reinforcements. "Call them off!"  
  
She was silent in reply once more, catching him with a nasty right hook. This time, he was a little better prepared, but the blow still drove him back and sent his head spinning once more. Her boot dug deep into the pit of his stomach while he was off-balance, knocking the wind out of him. He fell to his knees, clutching the wound even as she wound up again for another kick.  
  
Blazing with anger, Ash managed to catch her kick just inches from his chin, clutching her leg as she struggled furiously. "Fine," he growled, rising to his feet with her foot still in hand, "We'll play twenty questions later." He yanked on the appendage, pulling her off her remaining foot and dumping her onto the ground. He should have pressed the attack, but the gentleman in him forced him to back off a bit to wait and see what she did.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted desperately from Geodude's grip. The living boulder had managed to grab hold of its tail, and was swinging it around at dizzying speeds. "Pi pi piiiiiii!"  
  
Ash glanced back at the situation, feeling Pikachu's and Pidgeot's desperation. His favorite mouse was close to passing out, and Pidgeot couldn't dodge Marowack's flying bone forever. "Guys," he shouted, "Switch places!"  
  
Their trainer silently urged them on, lending them all of his hope as the Pokémon sprang into action. With practiced precision and a power they had never displayed before, each of the Pokémon targeted it's partner's foe, launching a fierce attack; Pidgeot let loose with a blade of pure air, amplified by some of its own sharpened quills in a Razor Wind. The blow knocked Marowack back, forcing it to let its Pika-prisoner free.   
  
Pikachu rolled to the ground, already mustering up electricity, which it blasted at Marowack. Though highly resistant to electric attacks, Pikachu summoned more power than it ever had before, more than enough to overpower the Ground type's natural defenses. Marowack was blown backwards, lighting up like a Christmas tree as the force of the attack drove it deep into a puddle of mud.  
  
There was no time to congratulate his winning team, as Giselle was already back up on her feet. She began reaching for another Pokéball, but Ash held his hand up, his other already hovering near the rest of his untapped team. "Don't." he said in a low, dangerous voice.  
  
She hesitated, then smiled. "No, I suppose that wouldn't work, would it?" She laughed, allowing her hands to drop to her sides. "You'd just pull another little sidekick out to stop them, wouldn't you? Maybe that Wartortle of yours, or that magnificent Charizard. They'll do you little good, anyway. I've already won."  
  
Ash froze, clueless as to what to do next. Just seconds before, he had been rushing off to rescue Giselle, and now, suddenly, she was attacking him? Nothing was adding up, and Ash was bad at math in the first place. "Giselle," he called, "What's the deal? We're on the same side, why are you-"  
  
"We're not on the same side yet, Disciple!" Giselle snarled, tossing back her poncho like a tattered plastic cape. Her features grew suspiciously content as she added, "But we soon will be. Just as soon as I absorb the rest of you, you'll all be working for me."  
  
Ash backed away a few steps, truly frightened by the diva's sudden transformation. "What are you talking…" His entire focus was on Giselle at the moment while his Pokémon guarded their fainted foes. Perhaps it was that reason that he finally noticed it; the dark tingle, the one that had been buzzing at the back of his skull for the past few days, was at last zeroed in on a target. It was as if this gigantic arrow had been hanging over Giselle, pointing down at her for the entire week, and he was just noticing it now. "Oh no." he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Her smile grew broader. "I do believe we have a winner!" she crowed, stepping in to match his backwards stumble. "Finally figuring it out, Disciple?"  
  
"It can't be…" Ash continued to shake his head, still moving backwards with awkward, shivering steps. "It's impossible. You…You…"  
  
He tripped over a small stone, falling flat on his back. Seizing the opportunity, Giselle closed the space between them with a quick gait, leaning over into his face. "Go on," she sneered, "Say it. We both know the truth now."  
  
His breath escaped as steam, puffing into her leering face as he spoke a single word. "Missingno."  
  
Giselle immediately snapped back, straightening as she made an obnoxious buzzing sound from the back of her throat. "Ehhhn! Wrong, Chosen Clown!" She paused, considering further. "Well, I suppose you're actually half-right. You see," she said with hands on hips, "I've been getting stronger since we met in the caves that served as my miserable prison for so many, many years."  
  
"I…I won't let you escape!" Ash shouted feebly, struggling to his feet. He called for his Pokémon, stammering and mud-soaked as he tried to square off against the demonic girl. "Pikachu, Pidgeot!"  
  
"Go ahead," Giselle waved him away with a scoff, snorting with amusement. "Tear this little vessel apart. You see, I'm not really here. Well, I am here, but I'm not. Actually, it's a little confusing." she admitted. Her tone was ridiculously casual, as if they were having a pleasant conversation over tea and crumpets.  
  
"Stop talking in riddles!" Ash screamed. "I've had ENOUGH riddles!"  
  
"Keep your pants on." She watched with a wary eye as Pikachu and Pidgeot both moved to flank Ash. Their beady eyes were trained on her, narrowed to mere slits. Both looked ready to pounce at the slightest indication of an attack from her. "See, I discovered a new trick, one that little Giselle wasn't aware of until it was too late. I found that when I drained a person of their life-essence, I could leave a piece of myself behind." She gestured down to her body, curvaceous and dripping-wet in the pouring rain. "I could use the memories I kept from people to play-act as them convincingly, and no one was the wiser!" She guffawed, actually holding her belly for fear it would split. "I've had you hoodwinked this whole time, you little Goddess-Puppet!"  
  
Ash pondered the problem, processing this new tidbit of data. "Then that means…" His eyes widened with horror as he came to his second realization. "Oh my God…"  
  
"That's right, buckwheat." She crowed victoriously once more. "Your mommy and big brother?" She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "They belong to me now."  
  
"You sick monster!" Ash rushed forward, raising his fists. Pikachu ran alongside him while Pidgeot remained behind, ready to cover any trickery the demon may pull off. Ash was blinded by rain and tears as he fell upon the Giselle-thing, raining down blows as he drove it into the mud and grass. "You monster!" he kept saying over and over, beating the would-be girl about the face. Each blow drove him crazier with anger and hate, welling up in his soul and pouring into his hands. "Why? Why did you bring me out here?" he screamed. "Did you want to gloat? You wanted to make my life even more miserable, is that it?"  
  
The beating paused as Giselle began laughing, coughing up a mixture of blood and mucus. She spat it onto Ash's chest contemptuously, chortling with a mouth of red and black. "No," she choked, her purple face serenely calm with silent amusement. "I needed you away so I could complete my collection."  
  
A pair of faces surfaced in Ash's mind as he reeled back, throwing himself off of Giselle's chest. She sat up on her elbows, laughing at him as his mind raced, his eyes becoming blank with dread. "The girls…" he said softly, scrabbling to his feet.  
  
"Your mother and that oaf should be coming home from the hospital just about now." Giselle cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something far off in the distance. "Yes…" she smirked, "There they are, at the door. Oh, and isn't this lovely? The girls baked a cake for me!"  
  
Ash wasn't listening anymore; he scooped Pikachu up into his arms, sprinting back at Pidgeot. His mouth moved, words came out, but he didn't even hear himself speaking. He felt himself being gripped by Pidgeot's amber power and whisked away into the air. His only thoughts were of the two girls who meant more to him than his own life.  
  
"You can't save them!" Giselle called up at him, laughing and coughing as she struggled to her feet. "And once we have you, the power of the Pokégoddess herself won't be far behind!"  
  
***  
  
"But I guess the thing I love the most about Ash," Misty decided with a nod and a smile, "Is that no matter what, he'll never let you down-"  
  
The doorbell interrupted their discussion, followed by a key being put into the lock. The girls exchanged excited glances, looking down at the cake they had finished baking and frosting while they talked. "That must be them!" Dixie smiled.  
  
"Well," Misty hoisted the cake, "Let's give them a nice surprise to welcome them home!"  
  
***  
  
=To Be Continued= 


	9. Arrivederci

BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 9=  
  
Till All Are One  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
It all came down to statistics.  
  
People called upon any number of fancy, beautiful, ultimately useless words whenever disaster struck in their lives; fate, kismet, destiny, luck, fortune, gods and goddesses…but in the end, it simply boiled down to a matter of numbers. Mathematicians had claimed for years that their craft was more closely tied to life itself than even art itself (though many had dismissed this as their way of trying to justify the fact that they sit around all day playing on their calculators). They were more right than most would care to admit.  
  
The epiphany struck Ash like a bolt of metaphorical lightning as he flew through the real stuff, propelled silently by Pidgeot's pure will through the heart of the horrendous monsoon that constantly hung above Pallet Town. He and Pikachu hung at the bird's side, wrapped in a golden aura as the Pokémon jetted off at speeds unheard of for organic creatures. Most of Ash's mind was devoted to urging his Pidgeot on, as if his own willpower could help (although he couldn't help noticing that Pidgeot was moving much faster than usual). The rest, however, was thinking intently about the two girls trapped in a house with a double-helping of megalomaniacal demon zombies.  
  
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that surprise wasn't warranted in the least; here he was, appointed guardian of the Earth by some strange, insubstantial woman who (as near as he could figure) lived in some kind of cloud, fighting evil demons that topped even his worst nightmares. It had been over a year since he had met her, and almost a year since he had found out about this strange destiny of his. And after all this time, nothing too terrible had happened.  
  
'…except Misty almost died.'  
  
Well, that was it, wasn't it? Statistics had tried to catch up with him back in Alaska, delivering the oh-so-deserved disaster after all of his gratuitous luck by taking away one of the most important things in his life. And what had his reaction been then? Simply a classic Ash solution; he had done whatever it took to win. He had cheated life itself and forced the gods' hands, threatening the entire world to beat those nasty numbers. Only now, he realized it hadn't been a real victory; It was just a temporary fix whose time had just run out.  
  
Pallet Lane, the simple little road the Ketchum's house had stood upon for nearly two decades, slowly came into view. Ash's eyes narrowed behind his old aviator goggles as he zeroed in on his old, white house with the matching picket fence. If statistics wanted to play rough, then it was about to come onto a nasty discovery; Ash was terrible with numbers.  
  
"Let's go, Pidgeot!" The Pokémon trilled its response, tucking its wings into a suicide dive that tore at Ash's skin even through the amber protection. He held his breath, clenching his jaw as he fought the impending blackness that was seeping into the edges of his vision. 'Can't black out…' He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay conscious. The force was so great that Ash could not get a command past his lips for Pidgeot to slow down, but his trust was absolute in his 'mon, and it wasn't misplaced. Pidgeot's wide wings and invisible power spread out wide, slowing them down until they made a gentle landing in the house's front yard.  
  
Ash took just enough time to recollect and holster Pidgeot before he and Pikachu leapt forward, running for the door. He felt a sense of panic welling up inside him, one that he felt mirrored in the house as he approached the open door.   
  
It was like déjà vu all over again as he pushed through the door and into the house, dripping all over his floor and not particularly caring. "Misty? Dixie?" A shrill scream was the only reply, emanating from the kitchen. "Hold on!" he called back, rushing and skidding on the smooth wood flooring.  
  
"Ash!" Misty's voice screamed with panic as he shot through the doorway. It took him only a second to gauge the situation, though his brain was having a little trouble wrapping around it.  
  
Brock stood over Misty as she lay huddled in the corner, a frying pan her only defense. The large man's hands were raised to strike her, and judging by Misty's tussled appearance, it wasn't going to be the first shot. His mother stood near the table, cradling Dixie's still form in her arms. Both she and Brock wore similar smiles of disgusting delight as they handled their prey.  
  
Brock turned, dropping his hands. "Ash," he said brightly, walking forward. "Good to see you! Pull up a seat." He reached forward to pull a chair out from under the table. "We've got some catching up to do."  
  
Ash's eyes narrowed at the sight of his cowering friend and limp girlfriend. His hands curled into fists as they rose from his sides, wary as Brock approached. "Drop the act, Missingno," he sneered with curling lips. "We both know what you're here for."  
  
"Yes," Brock agreed amiably, "I didn't think you'd be able to get here so fast. But don't let the whole 'demon possession' thing fool you…I know everything Brock knows, you know."  
  
"Yes, dear," His mother spoke, laying Dixie onto the table. "Our souls are alive and well, just like everyone else's inside of Missingno. Soon, you'll be able to join-"  
  
"Ash!" Misty screamed, "What's going on?" She stood up, still clutching the pan as she looked between the three of them. "They just came in and attacked me, they knocked Dixie out…your mother…Brock…"  
  
"It's Missingno, Misty," Ash stared hard into Brock's slitted eyes, knowing that it wasn't his friend behind them. "He's taken control of my mom and Brock…and Giselle. They've been playing us the whole time."  
  
"Ash, Ash, Ash…" Brock shook his head, still lugging the seat. "You're the one playing…playing hero, I mean. Always rushing to the rescue, ready to save your friends. But tell me…which one of them were you more desperate to save?"  
  
"Pika…" Pikachu snarled at the approaching assailant. It was so obvious to the Pokémon now; that tainted stench that hovered around Brock now had been around Giselle the whole time. It was unbelievable that it had gone unnoticed until now. "Pikachu! Pi, pika pi pika!"  
  
"Were you thinking of Dixie, your little girlfriend?" His mother ran a delicate hand across Dixie's calm, unconscious features. "You two have grown quite close in just a few short months. I know you care quite a bit about her. Maybe you even love her…"  
  
"Don't you touch her," Ash growled, but he held back. Even with Pikachu's light-speed lightning, he could only hit one of them, and that would leave the other free to attack.  
  
"But you and I both know that Misty's the more interesting subject." Brock smiled, now just a few feet away from Ash. His head tilted to the side as he smiled. "You really do look tired, Ash. Here," he raised the chair in an offer, "Have a SEAT!" The chair suddenly swung around in his grip, breaking apart against Ash's face and chest in a bone-shattering blow.  
  
Ash tumbled to the ground, feeling his ribs grinding against one another. He had forgotten just how strong Brock was, but the stars exploding behind his eyes were more than enough reminder. He saw Pikachu powering up to deliver a shock, but his 'mother' was still too close to Dixie. "Pikachu, no!" he cried out.  
  
"That's right, Pikachu," his mother smiled, looking first at Dixie, then at Misty, who still stood in the corner. "Mustn't hurt us. We're your friends, remember?"  
  
"Aren't I right, Ash?" Brock knelt down by Ash, smiling. "Misty's the real enigma in this situation, isn't she?" He looked back at the girl, giving her a grin. "Did you know that she cries herself to sleep sometimes over you?"  
  
"Shut up!" Misty yelled, turning beet red. "Shut up right now!"  
  
"It's true," Brock grinned. He planted a foot on Ash's chest, pinning him to the ground and drawing a yelp of pain from the boy as his boot ground into his cracked ribs. "She's been in love with you this whole time. Of course," he shrugged, leaning down harder on Ash and eliciting another moan, "You've been too wrapped up in yourself to notice, haven't you?"  
  
"Get…off…" Ash groaned, pushing uselessly against Brock's boot.  
  
"Badges, demons, leagues…you're a busy guy." Brock sneered. "Too busy to be a good friend, no matter how much you use them yourself. Ever stop to think about my needs? Or Misty's?" He didn't wait for an answer, twisting his heel into Ash's stomach. "No, of course not. You were too busy to notice that red-headed skank's feelings for y-"  
  
That was as far as he got when a frying pan sailed across the kitchen, slamming into the back of Brock's head with a distinctive 'ping!' The burly man went down like a sack of Poké-chow, tumbling down onto Brock.   
  
Throwing his arms up to deflect Brock's bulk, Ash didn't need a second chance; "Pikachu, Thunderwave!"  
  
"Pi-KA!" Pikachu powered up, throwing a hefty charge at his mother. The shot was high to ensure Dixie's safety, but perfectly on target. The electricity swept through her body, scrambling the impulses running through her body and knocking her unconscious. She slumped over next to Dixie, blissfully asleep.  
  
"Good work, Pikachu." Ash gasped, sitting up and clutching his ribs. His eyes slid sideways, catching sight of Misty. Her breath came in ragged huffs like his, but she seemed relatively unscathed. Her hand that had flung the pan still trembled as she walked over, using it to help Ash to his feet.  
  
"Ash," she said shakily, "What in blazes is going on? You said something about Missingno…"  
  
He nodded quickly. Leaning down, he was nonetheless relieved that Brock's body had a steady pulse, though that lump growing on the back of his head would leave him with one nasty headache…assuming they could save him. "It's Missingno, all right." he told her. "He's found a way to leave…I dunno, some kind of piece of himself in the bodies of his victims now. He's been playacting as Giselle this entire time, I think."  
  
"Can we save them?" Misty's voice grew quiet.  
  
"I think so…" Ash rubbed his chin, scowling. None of it made sense…Missingno clearly grew more powerful with each person he absorbed. That much he knew just from the inscriptions he had read in Exile's cavern, but the question was, how powerful had he grown? In the past year alone, he must have absorbed a veritable army…  
  
An army…  
  
"Oh crap." Ash suddenly felt his legs go weak. Misty had to lunge forward to catch her friend, lest he fall to the ground. "Oh, crap…Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap on a cracker…" Ash swore to himself.   
  
"What?"  
  
"This whole time," Ash suddenly rose, glaring down at Brock's fallen body, "He hasn't been running at all. He's been biding his time, building his own personal army of zombies, or whatever!" he waved a hand at Brock and his mother. "He could control half the Island for all we know! He's been taking over while I was away, and…and…"  
  
"But why?" Misty demanded. If Ash knew something she didn't, she wanted it up front with no sugar coating. "What's the point? I mean, if he's like Exile, he can probably go into full daylight by now, with all the people he's snacked on!"  
  
"I know, I know…" Nothing was adding up anymore. "We just have to-"  
  
A soft moan and a stirring from the table caught the two teens and their Pokémon off-guard. Tensing for battle, Ash forced himself to relax as he saw Dixie begin to awaken with a groan. Misty moved forward to help her to her feet, saying soothing things to ease her back into consciousness.  
  
Once more, Ash was struck with an overwhelming sense of relief. Somehow, despite the odds, he had come out ahead again; Dixie and Misty were still with him. If he hadn't beaten Missingno's schemes out of Giselle, who knows what-  
  
Wait.  
  
"I didn't beat it out of her at all…" Ash mused to himself. His mental cogs were spinning once more, an act that gave him a piercing migraine. He had always left the heavy thinking to Brock in dire situations, preferring to act on impulse as he always did. But that wouldn't cut it at the moment; the demon was too smart to be beat by a last-minute act of heroism. "He told me…"  
  
"Told you what?" Dixie moaned, rubbing her head where Delia had given it a decent blow. "What's going on?"  
  
"Ash?" Misty looked up from her examination of Dixie's blonde crown, besieged though it was. "What is it?"  
  
"Pi?"  
  
Ash began pacing, his eyes narrowed as the pieces began to fit. He began looking back on the past couple of days, thinking about Giselle's actions in a new light; she had tried to touch Exile's container; she always made sure she was paired with Ash…and Richie; she had been the one to suggest their search patterns, keeping them far away from the heart of Pallet. "She told me that you guys were in danger." Ash said at last, pounding his fist into an open palm.  
  
"That doesn't make sense." Misty insisted testily. "Why would Missingno want you to rescue us?"  
  
"Because," Ash retorted, "The first thing I would have done if I wasn't rescuing you would have been to check on…" he trailed off as the last piece fell into place, creating a terrifying picture. "Oh no."  
  
With an impatient sigh, Misty demanded, "What now?"  
  
"C'mon." Ash reached forward, grabbing hold of the girls' hands and dragging them back to the door. "Pikachu, let's go. Now!" Pikachu bounded after him as he brought the girls, one dizzy and the other protestant, out into the brutal storm.  
  
"Wait!" Misty shouted above the roaring winds and thunder, ignoring the pelting rain against her bare ivory skin, "Shouldn't we tie them up or something?"  
  
"Misty's right," Dixie shielded her eyes with a hand, squinting through the rain as Ash released Pidgeot with near-panic. "They might get loose or-"  
  
"No time! We have to get to the lab!" Ash shouted back. "Pidgeot, can you handle the four of us?" Pidgeot trilled a positive response, nodding its angular head as its ruffled brown feathers tossed aside the offending water that beat against its body. "Good."  
  
"What's at the lab?" Dixie asked, feeling Pidgeot's power wrap around her and her friends and lifting them into the air.  
  
Ash's response was a single word, and more frightening then the prospect of facing a hundred of their loved ones in battle. "Exile."  
  
Ash risked a look back as he snapped his flight goggles over his eyes, and was half-relieved to see the appropriate looks of horror on the girls' faces. They finally understood the true stakes of the match now. And as terrible as one demon had been for them, he couldn't bring himself to imagine facing the wrath of two working in tandem, and instead put his thoughts to those of haste as his Pokémon carried them up into the heart of the storm.  
  
***  
  
Richie whistled a merry tune to combat the gloom that had hung through their extended monsoon season as he ran his broom across Oak's pristine hardwood floors. During his first week with the Professor, the old man had insisted that Richie take it easy, putting his energy into recovering his lost memories. That had lasted only as long as Richie's polite nature could hold out against his natural compulsion towards being helpful. After that, Richie had told Oak in no uncertain terms that he was going to earn his keep around the lab just like any of Oak's other assistants, recovery be hanged.  
  
Without any real scientific background (not any he could remember, at any rate), Richie had been content with cleaning up around the place. Oak, like any true genius, knew plenty about his fields, but very little about cooking and cleaning. The same went for his plethora of rotating assistants, though Tracey Sketch could at least pick up after himself. It didn't bother Richie so much…as long as he could be of some use, he didn't feel so bad.  
  
So as it was, Richie was sweeping the main living area, allowing his thoughts to drift to the beautiful blonde girl that had made a fuss over him just a few days before, when he first noticed it; a soft, low humming that seemed to be coming from outside. He frowned, halting the swish of his broom for a moment as he strained his ear to listen; it wasn't easy to pick up between the deafening claps of thunder, but there it was nonetheless.  
  
"Huh. What the…" Curious, he set his broom aside, tilting his head to listen further. It was easier to hear now, and definitely coming from outside. He walked over to the window, peering out through the water-streaked glass. There, off on the distant north road leading up to Oak's signature windmill, was a strange collection of shadows swaying to and fro. Several flickering lights danced amongst the darkened shapes, bobbing up and down like no creature Richie could think of.  
  
His curiosity grew as he ascended the steps to the upper level of the lab. There, he moved swiftly to the north wall's upper patio, mercifully covered for the season with a hastily-erected tarp. Professor Oak kept a small spotting scope set up on a tripod on his favorite patio, stationed there for Pokémon watching. Richie took advantage of the device, adjusting the focus on the lens as he peered through the scope. His curiosity morphed into a sense of urgency and confusion as he spied what awaited them at the other end of the scope, stumbling back with surprise.  
  
His feet carried him back into the lab, forgetting the open doors behind him as he sprinted through the corridors. He called out for the Professor, checking each room in the twisted maze of corridors Oak himself had designed. Even after living here for several months, he was convinced that he hadn't yet found everything in the lab, nor did he trust himself not to get lost if he didn't keep his mind on where he was going.  
  
After a few minutes, he finally found the old man. He burst into the main lab, short of breath and panting his words as he leaned against his knees. "Professor…there's…something…you…"  
  
Oak was leaning against the countertop, his ear buried in the telephone receiver and a cross look of worry creasing his rugged features. "Yes…" he nodded to the other voice on the phone, too low for Richie to hear. "Yes, I see. Thank you, old friend. Goodbye." He hung up the phone, looking back to Richie with increasing worry. "Richie."  
  
"Professor," Richie gasped, pushing his heavy teal cap up out of his eyes as his breath returned. "Out there, heading towards the lab, there's-"  
  
"Yes, I know." Oak nodded. "There's a mob." He turned to the computer, tapping in a few commands. "Dextron," he addressed the Lab's central computer crisply, "Activate perimeter defenses. Begin securing all loose Pokémon in the enclosures, and prepare to bring internal defenses on-line."  
  
Richie was a little surprised that Oak already knew; certainly, little that went on in Pallet Town escaped Oak's attention, but the aging scientist could hardly be expecting this. "You know?" He shook away his surprise, getting back to the real issue. "Professor, what's a mob doing here? What do they want?"  
  
"It isn't about what they want, lad." Oak's solemn gaze turned away from Richie to rest on his stainless steel isolation containers. There, inside one of them, rested the artifacts that Ash had given to him for safekeeping. Part of him, his scientific curiosity, hoped to see them in action this night. The rest of him…  
  
"It's about what 'he' wants."  
  
***  
  
"There's something below us!" Misty called, pointing a finger straight down as they soared above the treetops.  
  
Ash squinted, seeing the same flickering lights and moving shadows that Misty had spotted. He didn't know what it was, but it certainly couldn't be good. "Pidgeot," he called ahead to his navigator, "Take us down for a look!"  
  
Pidgeot gave a shrill squawk, tucking its wings as it led the teens and their Pika-partner down lower. The bird snapped its wings out with plenty of time to spare, following the road to Oak's lab as Ash and the others let out horrified gasps. Below them, a veritable army of people marched slowly towards Oak's lab. They wore ordinary clothes, as if they had dropped whatever they were doing to attend a come-as-you-are drafting. Some carried bats or pipes, while others held flaming torches high above their heads.  
  
"Torches?" Dixie scoffed in disbelief. "They have torches? Wonderful…all they're missing are pitchforks."  
  
As Pidgeot dipped lower, a pronged spear suddenly leapt upwards to stab at them. Pidgeot squawked, splitting their flight group to avoid the lance, even as another came.  
  
"You had to say something, didn't you?" Misty snapped as another pitchfork flew up, narrowly missing her leg. The angered cries of the impromptu army could still be heard as Pidgeot took them upwards to relative safety.  
  
"Hold on," Ash broke the impending fight apart, pointing ahead of them. "Look!"  
  
A large, wired fence was rising out of the ground, just in front of Oak's usual low-slung wooden barrier. The chain-link wall seemed to wrap around the entire facility, topped with nasty barbed wire that gleamed against the flashes of lightning in the background. Signs of warning dotted the fence with pictures of electric bolts and zapped stick figures, assuring any intruders that trespassing was definitely discouraged.  
  
One of the zombies on point made the mistake of running headlong into the fence as it reached the eight-foot mark, its growth coming to a halt. He was immediately thrown back by a powerful electrical shock, scorching his clothes and incapacitating him in one fell swoop.  
  
"Pika…" Pikachu murmured, impressed.  
  
"I didn't know Oak had one of those." Misty said as they flew over the fence.  
  
Ash shook his head. "I doubt there's anything the Professor 'isn't' ready for."  
  
They touched down in the main yard, right in front of Oak's lazily-spinning windmill. Dixie and Misty looked apprehensively at the mob as Ash re-holstered Pidgeot; the strange army was beating against Oak's defenses, risking shock with their bats and branches and torches, and whatever else they had been able to find on short notice. "What now?"  
  
Ash felt a shiver travel up his spine, totally unrelated to the weather. "Get inside…now!" Ash shouted, ushering them through the door. He cast one last look back at the mob, scowling as he recognized several faces as people he had known from Pallet Town as a child. The usually-pleasant faces of his friends and neighbors were twisted into expressions of hate as they pounded against Oak's perimeter. 'Missingno has a lot to answer for,' Ash decided silently as he entered the lab, putting the mob out of his mind. There were bigger problems on their way.  
  
***  
  
The doors to Oak's main lab burst open for the second time that night as Ash and his friends rushed in, Pokéballs held at the ready. "Professor?" Ash called desperately as Pikachu sparked and spitted at his side, ready to launch everything it had against whatever stood in their way.  
  
Relief set in when Ash saw Oak and Richie sitting calmly at one of his examination tables. Oak sipped calmly on a cup of tea, monitoring the progress of the army laying siege to his castle. Richie looked like death warmed over, but he brightened as he saw Ash, Misty, Dixie and Pikachu riding to their rescue. "Ash!" Richie cried out, rising from his seat.  
  
"Hello, my young friends." Oak nodded a greeting, setting his teacup down. "Quite the predicament we're in, isn't it?"  
  
"Does anything get to this guy?" Dixie muttered sidelong to Misty.  
  
"You should see him when the world's ending," Misty countered, equally as quiet. "Solid as a rock."  
  
"Professor," Ash dashed forward, running his hands along the containment units. "Has anyone…anything-"  
  
"It's all right, Ash." Oak rose to join him. He rapped his knuckles against the unit reassuringly. "Nothing can get into this unless I want it to, believe me."  
  
"Open it."  
  
Oak's eyebrow quirked. "Beg pardon?"  
  
Frantically, Ash wondered how he could possibly sum the situation up. "Professor, Missingno's in control of most of the town, and they're pounding on your gates right now to get at those…artifacts." he chose his words carefully. "Missingno's probably on his way now to collect Exile, and we have to stop him."  
  
"Yes," Oak nodded, "I surmised as much."  
  
Ash froze, puzzled. "You did?"  
  
"And I had assumed that keeping the containment unit closed would be-"  
  
"I need Missingno's ball to beat him." Ash insisted. "Please, open the container!"  
  
Oak hesitated a moment, and then nodded. "Very well," he sighed as he typed the access code in. "Far be it for me to question the wisdom of the Disciple."  
  
A flash of annoyance crossed Ash's features at the title, but Oak took no notice of it as he swung the containment doors open. As he did so, even he was a bit surprised (and everyone else was terrified) to see a blood-red light pouring out of the tiny box. Inside, one of the twin obsidian spheres was alighted with deep, crimson light that shone with a deadly gleam.  
  
"That can't be good." Richie had the bad taste to comment as Ash drew the glowing sphere from the container, pocketing it quickly and quietly. The Disciple paused as soon as the ball was hidden, his head tilted as if listening to a distant voice.  
  
Dixie stepped forward, her voice quivering with panic. "What are y'all gonna do?" she asked. "That fence won't hold those people out there forever, and you said that Missingno thing is-"  
  
"He's here." Ash cut her off with a snap, whirling around with narrowed eyes. He scanned the deep shadows of the lab, and knew without a doubt that they weren't alone. He couldn't see the demon, but his pungent stench was overpowering to the tingle at the base of Ash's skull. "He's in the lab."  
  
*Very good, Disciple.* a disembodied voice floated from every corner of the room, startling all but one of its inhabitants. *Your talents continue to grow with each fight. Why, soon enough,* he chortled from every direction, *You may even pose a threat to me.*  
  
Ash's head swiveled on his neck as he looked around the lab, trying to pinpoint Missingno's location. Down by his feet, Pikachu was bristling and snarling. Sparks rained down from the Pokémon's cheeks as its tiny hackles raised, growling at the invisible enemy. "Everyone," Ash ignored Missingno's taunting, tossing his voice to his fellows on the side, "Get out of here. Lock the door."  
  
Misty began to protest, but thankfully Oak had the good sense to usher her out before her voice could even rise properly. The other two followed quickly as they ran for the door, only to run into Oak's back as the portal slammed shut on its own, halting their escape.   
  
Missingno's ghostly voice cackled with delight as Oak tugged furiously on the doorknob. The door refused to budge, much to the demon's increasing delight. *Now, you can't leave just yet.* he scolded them, *The fun is just beginning, and I would feel just awful if you missed out on it!*  
  
"Leave them out of his, Missingno." Ash shouted at the walls, turning about. He forced Oak's muttered curses, Dixie's and Richie's frantic shrieks, and Misty's roar of frustration to the back of his mind, focusing his new senses in desperation. "I'm the one you want," he insisted, "This is between you and me. Goddess business, and all that."  
  
Another laugh echoed across the cavernous lab, chilling the trainer to the bone as he tried uselessly to find his enemy. *You? Hardly, little one. You see,* he gleefully informed his quarry, *I'm far beyond the acquisition of a few paltry souls and bags of meat.*  
  
"You don't have a soul of your own. You said it yourself a few days ago." Ash shot, wiping the sweat that beaded at his brow. "Well, I have a nice, big, juicy one right here, Grade A and Goddess-approved. So c'mon." He wait a moment, watching for any sign of the demon's approach. "COME ON!" he roared, throwing his arms out wide.  
  
*You have been left out of the loop, haven't you?* Missingno sounded almost piteous of his prey as his voice shifted about the room. *Well, let me illuminate a few things for you, Oh Chosen One.*  
  
The very shadows of the room began to shift and move as if possessed of a life of their own. Darkness everywhere twitched and poured, slithering across the floor from the darkest depths of Oak's lab. Even Ash's own shadow vanished, swiftly crossing the floor to coalesce with the other blackness in the center of the room. It formed a large, circular pool, swirling and glimmering in the shadowed lightning outside.   
  
Then a dark shape began to rise out of the pool, slowly at first, but gaining momentum as it went. A pair of long, jagged projections was first, followed by a hideous, elongated skull with two red, burning eyes and long, deadly teeth. Shoulders soon rose to support the head, followed by a pair of gigantic, muscular arms attached to a chiseled torso. Long, smooth legs followed the creature's hips, with knees that bent in an inhuman direction and rested upon cloven feet.  
  
*I've got a new look,* Missingno said through a mouthful of the dagger-like teeth, using his massive hands to sweep aside pieces of Oak's enormous analytical equipment as if it weighed nothing. *And that look comes complete with a soul of its own, thanks to generous contributions from victims like you.*  
  
Dixie was more frightened than she could ever remember being in the entirety of her short life as she backed up against the wall, sinking to her knees. Every description she had ever heard of in church, every image she had ever seen painted, matched Missingno's new look to the Morningstar himself. Faced with a real-world Satan hungering for her soul, she felt her control slipping away. "H-h-he's huge…" she murmured, feeling her hope slip away.  
  
"He's solid," Misty whispered with amazement, looking up (and up!) at the towering monster before her. Missingno had always been limited in the physical world by his gaseous state, but now it seemed he had found the strength to pull his insubstantial body together into something far more powerful.  
  
Ash glared at the menacing demon, the bile in his throat rising. His senses, the intangible tools the Goddess had apparently blessed him with, were screaming one thing at him right then; Missingno wasn't lying. He had a soul of his own. Which meant…what? "He's whole." Ash growled in a low voice.  
  
*You noticed.* Missingno leered down at them, folding his massive arms. *Now, do you want to surrender now, or are we going to do this the hard way?*  
  
"Pikachu," Ash shot a look at his Pokémon as he ripped the Demon Ball from his pocket, "FLASH!"  
  
Pikachu roared in reply, bringing every ounce of external charge it had deep into its body as the mysterious facilities the Hidden Machine had created. With a shrill cry, Pikachu exploded with a brilliant blast of light that blotted out every last detail in the lab, replacing everything with pure, blinding white.  
  
Ash waited for the attack to fade with his arm across his eyes, protecting him from the blast of light. As soon as it was over, he threw his arm back, clutching the Demon Ball tightly as he prepared to throw it at the disabled demon…  
  
Except Missingno was fine.  
  
Certainly, he looked slightly worse for wear; the obsidian surface that composed his skin was smoking and sizzling. Thick, disgusting boils now blotted his body, oozing black liquid as they burst under the pressure. But the demon himself was unperturbed, still standing with his arms calmly folded across his chest.  
  
*That stung.* Missingno sounded more irritated than anything else. He shifted his arm, reaching down towards Ash and Pikachu with a sneer on his face.  
  
Panicked, Ash brought the glowing ball between him and the demon, hoping the painful red light would somehow ward Missingno off. It had worked once before, back in the mountainous caves that had served as Missingno's prison. "Stay back!" he cried.  
  
Missingno froze for a moment, bathed in the light of his former cage. Then he smiled, darting forward faster than his size should have allowed as he plucked the glowing ball from Ash's hand. *I have a soul now, Disciple. Do you know what that means?* He began rolling the ball between his massive fingers, inspecting the tiny artifact. *It means I am finally free.* With a sickening smile, he squeezed. The ball cracked under the pressure, grinding down into a fine powder between in his crushing grip and falling to the ground, twinkling in the air. *You can no longer hold me within this prison. You cannot stop me.* He leaned forward, putting his jagged, repugnant face down to Ash's level. Rancid, rotting breath rolled in massive waves over Ash as the demon laughed in his face. *You cannot BEAT ME, Disciple!"  
  
Ash scrambled back with Pikachu hot on his heels as Missingno's claw descended upon them. The terrified cries of the others were miles away to him as the demonic claws tore away chunks of the concrete flooring, narrowly missing their true target. His hands acted on instinct, yanking his Pokéballs and thumbing the activation triggers before he even thought to. "Everyone, GO!"  
  
There was no room for Articuno, but the rest of his team joined the fight in an instant; Wartortle, Ivysaur, Charizard and Pidgeot were reassembled from their energy states with a dazzling flash of light, forming a protective circle around their fallen friends before Missingno could mount another attack.  
  
He was about to order an attack when another set of flashes from the side caught his attention, accompanied by a steady, high-pitched voice. Looking over, he saw an entire team of Water types hit the floor just seconds after his own team. "Staryu," Misty cried, "Starmie, Seadra, Psyduck, Poliwrath, Togepi!"  
  
A shout of protest was on Ash's lips, but he swallowed it as his eyes met Misty's. He could almost feel her determination mirroring his own, covering the same fear in her that he could feel poisoning his own courage. Instead, he turned back to his own team. "Strongest attacks, guys. GO!"  
  
Missingno was forced back with a roar of pain as a wall of flame, water, lightning and wind slammed into him, accented by dozens of tiny, razor-sharp leaves. His outline was blurred against the torrent of elemental power. Ash thought for a moment that it might have worked, until a wall of dark energy began pushing the attacks back at them.  
  
"C'mon guys!" Ash cried out, urging his team on. He knew his Pokémon were putting everything they had into the attacks, but it wasn't enough. Little by little, Missingno pressed ahead through the wave of destruction, moving ever closer to his targets.  
  
*You're just delaying the inevitable, you know.* Missingno grunted from behind his shadowy shield. Ash wished desperately that Missingno would stop talking and just roar, or something. It was far more disturbing to have a demon that talked to him. *You can't hold out-*  
  
Another wave of attacks hit him, this one in the form of a tiny tidal wave that slammed into his side, forcing him to one knee. Misty let out a cry of triumph as her team, even her usually-useless Psyduck, blasted out with thick streams of crystal water, adding to Ash's elemental gale. Her Togepi stood by, blasting at the demon with cascading psionic energy that flew between the columns of water.  
  
*This…is…hardly…fair…* Missingno grunted, expanding his shield to cover Misty's added attacks. Ash had a sinking that Missingno was merely toying with them, that he could have destroyed them at any moment. It was either good fortune or a really bad sign that the demon had decided to toy with them. *Perhaps I'll call in a little backup of my own.*  
  
The air next to Ash began to ripple as a small point of light grew from nothingness, expanding until it was the size of a large doorway. Ash shielded his eyes as the intensity of the light grew to its apex, then vanished in a blast of air as quickly as it had come. When he opened his eyes again, a new horror greeted him with a friendly, familiar wave.  
  
"Hey," Brock said in unison with Missingno, adopting a fierce scowl. "Neat trick, huh?" The Brock-puppet ripped a Pokéball from his waistline, tossing it into Ash's face. The young trainer was blinded once more as the ball spat out Brock's hefty Graveler, who shook the floor with its landing. "Graveler, attack!" Graveler looked back at its trainer for a moment, confused; it recognized the target as one of its friends. But Brock stood firm, pointing and foaming at the mouth as he screamed, "Do as I say! ATTACK!"  
  
Ash ducked as four blocky hands lanced out towards him, narrowly avoiding Graveler's crushing grip. Pikachu and the others scattered as Brock brought out his Vulpix, which immediately began spraying plumes of molten death about the room. "Misty!" he called out, "I could use a little help here!"  
  
"I'm busy!" came the snappish reply. It was only then that Ash noticed that Brock hadn't been the only one to be transported into the lab; Giselle and Misty were deadlocked in battle, with their Pokémon duking it out around them. "Get offa me!"  
  
"Time to die, children." Missingno spoke in time with his earthly extensions, creating a triumvirate most strange. "Or rather, to be reborn as servants to the one true king." With no one to oppose him, Missingno strode forward towards the containment block, his enormous fingers flexing with anticipation. The prize within would be most sweet; his brother's rebirth, and their united destruction of the old ways as they remade the world in their image. "Me."  
  
"Guys!" Ash cried out, ducking as Brock released his Geodude into the melee to try and silence Ash more quickly, "Keep Missingno away from Exile!"  
  
Pikachu heard its trainer's cries, and was torn. The Pokémon desperately wanted to help Ash, but it knew that he was right; if Missingno breached the containment, then all was lost. "Pika!" the mouse rallied its fellows with a cry, "Pika, pikachu!" Together, they charged forth, meeting Missingno head-on. Pikachu himself slammed into the demon, who was more surprised than hurt as the four others joined in, giving the attack everything they had.  
  
Misty struggled as Missingno, in his Giselle shell, began pulling at her raven locks. The beautiful prima donna's face was contorted with rage as the demon's primary body struggled with Ash's Pokémon. "Dixie!" Misty cried, "Help! Use your Pokémon!" Her own Water types had the advantage over Giselle's primarily Ground type team, but without her instructions, they lacked the fighting edge she could give them. "Help us!"  
  
Dixie cowered in fear, still in the corner with Professor Oak and Richie. The aging scientist knelt beside the teens, keeping a protective arm on each of them as they watched the ensuing chaos. She desperately wanted to help, but this was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Missingno was the demon that haunted her dreams, and he had already claimed two of the people she thought of as friends. What happened if he claimed her? "I…I can't!" she cried, tears leaking from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm…I just…"  
  
"Misty," Ash grunted, avoiding the swipe of Brock's surprisingly-nimble Rock types, only to nearly fall into the hands of the Rock trainer himself. "Misty, we have to do this on our own. We're the only ones who can."  
  
"We can't!" she cried, trying to loosen Giselle's grip on her head. "Missingno has everything…We can't win!"  
  
"We have to!" he retorted, darting away from Brock's deft grip. "We're the only ones left! Besides, we have one thing he doesn't." It was a poor time for a pep talk, but he could feel fear pouring off of Misty in waves, and he knew he couldn't do this alone.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Us."  
  
Misty wasn't sure how, but she could feel Ash with her. Not see, not hear, but feel him…one hundred percent. And just like that, she knew without a doubt that, despite her own confused feelings, despite everything that changed, Ash was there for her now, just as he had always been. "Okay." she said, steadying her voice. "Okay, enough corny lines. So what do we do?"  
  
That part, Ash hadn't quite figured out yet. His own Pokémon were doing the best they could against Missingno, keeping the demon distracted. That, plus the fact that he was actively splitting his focus between Brock and Giselle had to mean that he was at least a little off-guard. It wasn't much, but Ash would take anything he could get. Suddenly, a strategy popped into his head. "Switch!" he yelled.   
  
With a running jump, Ash leapfrogged over Graveler, pushing the Pokémon back into Geodude, who in turn was knocked into Brock. Without even thinking about it, Ash began shouting instructions to Misty's Pokémon as he sprinted to the rescue. With a trainer to see the overall big picture of the fight, Misty's Water types began taking back ground, knocking out Giselle's team one by one. In the meantime, Ash was able to get a clear shot at Misty's attacker, knocking her off with a flying tackle that took them both down in a heap.  
  
Finally freed, and with a victorious team, Misty caught on to Ash's plan in a heartbeat. "Everyone," she called, "Watergun Brock and his 'mon, now!"  
  
The Pokémon obeyed without question, sending five powerful streams of water Brock's way. Brock's team was powerful, but every last Pokémon he had out at the moment possessed a critical elemental disadvantage that was right up Misty's alley: The water slammed into Geodude, Graveler and Vulpix, knocking them out almost instantly and blowing them back against the far wall. Brock himself was lifted off of his feet, screaming as he slammed into one of Oak's pricier machines. His head slumped to the side as he fell to the floor, sopping wet and unconscious.  
  
"I hope you're ready to die, Ketchum." Giselle sneered from atop him, raising her fist to pummel Ash's face.  
  
"I am." Ash retorted. "Are you?"  
  
A dark blur caught Giselle square in the face as Misty brought her foot up and around, booting the dark-haired vixen right off of Ash with one blow. "You have no idea how good that felt," she quipped, helping Ash to his feet.  
  
"What, kicking Missingno?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, right, right…Missingno."  
  
A shrill, mousy cry stole Ash's attention away from his victory with Misty as Pikachu, the last of his standing sentinels, was thrown to the floor. Missingno was covered with cuts and burns that bled a thick, black ooze, but he seemed far more angry than hurt. "Off with you, flea!" he shouted, kicking Pikachu across the floor.  
  
Ash felt lost, watching Missingno approach the container as his own Pokémon picked themselves up off of the floor. Suddenly he felt a hand slip into his, and a calm sense of determination washed over him. "I'm ready, Ash." Misty told him, standing next to him as they stared Missingno down. Ash simply nodded; It was all or nothing.  
  
"Togepi, Psywave!"  
  
"Pidgeot, Hurricane!"  
  
The commands came flying from their mouths as Ash and Misty rallied the last offense against Missingno. A blast of psionic energy blindsided the demon, even as Pidgeot built up a small ball of pure wind between its wings. By the time the miniature tempest struck the demon square in the back, Misty had her twin stars, Staryu and Starmie, lined up for a dual Watergun blast that forced the demon back. Before he could begin pushing against them, Wartortle was in place at Ash's command, adding to the wall of water.  
  
"Charizard, Fire Blast!"  
  
"Seadra, hit Psyduck!"  
  
While the Water team regrouped to catch their breath, Charizard held Missingno at bay with an enormous star of pure flame, pounding into the demon's hide with white heat. In the meantime, Psyduck found himself on the wrong end of Seadra's tail. After a few good blows, it had just the splitting headache Misty was counting on.  
  
"Psyduck, Confusion!"  
  
"Ivysaur, Cut! Go for the face!"  
  
Misty and Ash stepped closer to the demon, still hand in hand as he was lifted bodily off of the floor by Psyduck's blue psychic field. As Missingno struggled uselessly against the air, Ivysaur's long whips shot out from its central bloom. The razor edges at the ends of the four tendrils slashed across Missingno's face, gouging into one of the great beast's burning eyes. Missingno howled in fury, swiping uselessly at the air, but he couldn't move until Psyduck dropped him unceremoniously to the ground.  
  
"Pikachu!" Ash called his number one Pokémon back into the fray as he released Misty's hand. She backed up, somehow already knowing what Ash would do before he even spoke. The tiny yellow mouse bounded up to its trainer, ignoring the intense pain that its battle-injuries gave it. With a little hop Pikachu dove into Ash's waiting arms, raised up high as he lifted the Pokémon up and over his head.  
  
*You think you've won!* spat Missingno, propping himself up on his elbows. His left eye was closed, useless thanks to the last attack. He was heaving mightily, struggling for breath as his wounded chest rose in short, unsteady gasps. *You've won nothing! You can't beat me, even with your little light trick. Don't you get it?*  
  
"It's over." Ash said calmly.  
  
*Over? OVER!* Missingno was suddenly on his feet, pounding and breaking the cement floor beneath them. He raised his hands high above his head, just as Ash had, and summoned a great ball of shadow from around the room. The ball crackled with energy, kicking up invisible forces that roared to life in the room like a freak cyclone. *NOTHING IS OVER EXCEPT YOU, GODDESS-PUPPET!* Missingno shrieked.  
  
The ball continued to expand, as did the terrible, burning winds that tore apart the interior of the lab itself. With a screech of rending metal, the very roof of the lab gave way, flying high into the air and out of sight as Missingno continued to gather darkness about him.  
  
*What do you think, Disciple?* Missingno guffawed, leering down at Ash with his one good eye. *I don't even need my brother to take care of the likes of you. It ends here.*  
  
Ash felt a calm settle into his body. His senses dulled as he left the world behind, feeling himself retreating inward into an inner calm. Then, as if on a rubber band, his senses snapped back, sharper than ever. Only they weren't just his senses; they were too acute, too precise. He could smell the taint wafting off of Missingno, hear every crackled that the terrible storm the demon's ball of darkness had created. He could sense the fear off of Misty and the others, as if it were a scent he could pluck out of the air. He could see the demon so clearly, because he was seeing him with more than one set of eyes.  
  
He was Pikachu.  
  
Pikachu was him.  
  
"You're right," Ash spoke, feeling as though his body was pouring into the mouse he held above his head. "It ends here. Pikachu," he spoke evenly, not even raising his voice, "Flash."  
  
Missingno began laughing as the Pokémon drew its power inward once more. That laughter soon died down as the light returned, stinging him and burning at his tough exterior. He winced in pain, but knew that it would end soon enough.  
  
Except it didn't.  
  
Pikachu continued to grow brighter, and brighter. Soon, Ash could see the light as clear as day even though his eyelids. And still Pikachu grew brighter. The entire compound was bathed in a light a hundred times brighter than the sun…then the surrounding valley…then the town itself…Soon, American space shuttles were able to pick the light up visually from their lazy orbit around the planet, and ceased their experiments to look upon the marvel and wonder what created it.  
  
…and still, Pikachu grew even brighter.  
  
The grunt of annoyance Missingno had first uttered was long forgotten, replaced with a howl of pure, unadulterated agony the likes of which the demon had only inflicted in the past, but never experienced. He fell to his knees, clutching at his burning skin, swiping uselessly at the source of light, cursing Ash's name and his ancestors and promising swift death to the boy, and all the while he knew he was helpless and dying.  
  
Ash could feel it; he could feel his strength entering Pikachu, giving the thunderous mouse a power it had never known before. He could feel the lost souls trapped within Missingno being freed, slowly at first, but then with greater and greater force. It was almost done…just a little longer…  
  
"NO!"  
  
She sharp, shrill cry from behind Ash had come in tandem with Missingno's own. Quickly, he turned, and spotted a dark shadow with long, flowing hair running at him. The shape clutched one of the wall studs that Missingno had torn free when he had destroyed Oak's laboratory. With his hands raised, Ash was helpless to protect himself. He dared not try to stop whatever it was, not when they were so close to defeating Missingno.  
  
"Ash, look out!" a male voice slipped through the pure light. Ash watched on, all-powerful and yet powerless, as another shape lunged at the dark, armed shadow. The two shapes struggled for a moment, until the two-by-four swung about, catching the male shape off-guard. There was a sharp crack and a cry of agony as he went down. The long-haired shadow wasted no time, renewing its attack on Ash. But it was too late.  
  
"Now, Pikachu!" Ash cried out, "Thunder!"  
  
Pikachu looked up to the heavens, still a luminous beacon that outshone anything in the night sky that hid above the overcast clouds. The terrible thunder that had ravaged Pallet Town in the never-ending monsoon now bowed to a new master as Pikachu called upon the lightning, focusing it into a single spot; the demon, Missingno. With one final howl, the beast disappeared in an even greater flash, burning away at the pure electricity that pumped from the heavens into his dark body, until at last there was nothing left.  
  
Pikachu's light faded almost immediately as the two boys dropped to the ground, completely drained. Before them, amidst the wreckage of Oak's room, was an enormous scorch upon the ground. Stray tendrils of black shadow twitched here and there, but Ash could no longer sense Missingno's vile presence in the room.  
  
As quickly as he had hit the ground, Misty was at his side helping him to his feet. "Ash!" she cried. "Ash, are you all right?"  
  
"I…I dunno." The whole experience was still a little raw for Ash. He felt…concerned for some reason. He saw the same concern pouring out of Misty as she looked at him, eyes welling up with tears. Throwing aside her doubts, Misty lashed her arms around Ash, wrapping him in a hug.  
  
"Thank God…" she sniffed, "Thank God you're all right." He could feel a trail of hot tears running down his neck as he returned the hug. Though it had been a victory, something didn't feel right.  
  
Misty tentatively released him from the hug as he bent down to pat Pikachu. His partner seemed on the verge of collapse, but otherwise fine. "You did a great job, buddy. You all did." he added, looking at the others around the room. "We did…"  
  
He froze as he saw a most unwelcome sight: His girlfriend knelt over a still form in the middle of the room. It took Ash only a moment to remember that it was the exact spot where his mysterious defender had fallen protecting him. Dixie's shoulders were shaking as she sobbed over his still form, her face buried in her hands. Professor Oak walked up to her, trying to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she threw it aside with a shrill cry, refusing to let anyone draw near.  
  
Ash stared numbly at Richie's body, watching the boy struggle for breath in the midst of a fitful unconsciousness. He looked about the ruins of the room, and at his injured friend Brock, and the unmoving Giselle. He watched his girlfriend sob piteously over her old friend. Oh, they had won, all right…  
  
But the price had been enormous.  
  
=To Be Continued= 


	10. Goodbye

BadgeQuest  
  
The Big Goodbye  
  
=Part 10=  
  
Dénouement  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ash fidgeted nervously as he walked into the Oak Institute's off-kilter front door. The damages from the previous day's battle were enormous, but luckily nothing Oak couldn't fix or afford. Several orange trucks bearing the words 'Oak Family Construction' and the Oak family crest were already parked outside, with a few men milling about. The rain had mercifully slowed to a light drizzle, allowing the construction workers to get tarps over the parts of the roof that hadn't made it through the melee.  
  
But Ash wasn't here to survey the damage he and Missingno had done. This was a social call, one that he wasn't looking forward to one bit. They had all visited the hospital after the battle for their minor cuts and scrapes. It had been nothing serious (though the hospital attendants were now on a first name basis with most of them, which was a little funny in a sick sort of way). But Richie…  
  
The living room was deserted when he pushed through the door, shutting it behind him as best as he could. It hung a bit crookedly on its hinges, but with a little effort he managed to keep the elements sealed outside. "Hello?" he called out, hanging his dripping poncho on a hook. Part of him was glad that Pikachu had decided to stay behind, despite his buddy's poignant absence at his side. The little fellow was still exhausted after the mega-Flash he had pulled off to save the day…something that Ash still couldn't figure out how they had done it.   
  
A noise at the staircase finally answered his loud calls. "Okay, okay," a feminine voice sighed, "We hear you already. Knock it off." Ash watched as Giselle descended the stairs, dressed in a long black rain slicker. Her shoulders shrugged against a large, heavy backpack she wore on top of the slicker as she reached the first floor, giving a small look of surprise at the sight of the other trainer. "Oh, it's you. Good."  
  
"Good?" Ash asked warily as she approached. He couldn't help but be suspicious; Giselle had never been glad to see him. Maybe Missingno's presence wasn't completely gone… "Why good?"  
  
"Well, I was going to catch you before I left." she shrugged, tugging at the backpack's heavy straps. Once the bag was secure, she situated her long, chestnut locks to one side, producing a binder with which to secure them. "I…I wanted to say thanks."  
  
"Thanks? For what?"  
  
She glared at him as she bunched her hair into a ponytail, letting it fall over her shoulder. "Stop being modest. It's really annoying." Blowing an impatient sigh, she seemed to draw deep on some inner reserve, as if facing a great task. "Look…the fact of the matter is, you pulled my bacon out of the fire. Everyone's, as a matter of fact. Plus, you bagged Missingno to boot, something that I couldn't do after a whole year of trying." Her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment, and Ash could have sworn he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "It's not easy to admit, but…the Goddess chose right with you."  
  
"Giselle…" he started, but she quickly put a finger to his lips.  
  
"Look, let's not ruin the moment, shall we?" Glancing around warily, she darted in and placed a brief kiss on Ash's cheek. Pulling back, she watched the boy's face turn cherry-red as he lifted a hand to the spot. "See you around, Ketchum." She began heading for the door, but stopped and turned at a thought. "Oh, and don't think this whole 'Goddess' crap makes you Number One. That's still 'my' spot. Clear?"  
  
"Crystal." he said with a smirk.   
  
He watched her nod with satisfaction as she heaved the door open, exiting into the pouring rain and disappearing into the monsoon. Then he headed up the stairs, following the path Giselle had come down, making his way down the twists and turns of Oak's lair until he came across Oak's small lounge. There, sitting next to the door leading in, was a small ball of a girl with her knees drawn up to her chest, face hidden by a large shock of blonde hair spilling down her legs as her shoulders silently shook.  
  
Ash cringed, biting his lower lip. He and Dixie hadn't spoken since the day before, since Richie's 'accident'. He had tried at the hospital, but she had remained stonily silent, gracing him only with eyes filled with daggers. At the sound of his shuffling feet, those bladed eyes now looked up, locking on to Ash with uncanny precision. "Hey Dix…" he murmured softly.  
  
She sniffed, drawing her arm across her face to clear away the hanging tears. Her eyes were red and puffy after nearly a day of crying, but no less spiteful as she stood. Silently, she walked over to Ash, her mouth drawn tight. Ash remained still, expecting the worst. He wasn't disappointed; Dixie's hand flashed across his face, slapping him hard enough to rock him back on his feet.  
  
"How could you?" her voice trembled as she drew her hand down. She looked as though she wanted to do more, much more, but somehow she restrained herself. "He was your friend."  
  
Ash rubbed his cheek for the second time that day, this time much less pleased at the cause. "Dixie…" he looked back at her, a thousand explanations coming to his lips. He hadn't meant for things to come out like that in the end. He hadn't asked Richie to take the blow for him. He had tried his best. Each excuse was hollower than the last. "I…I'm sorry," he said at last.  
  
"Sorry." she spat. "Well, that's wonderful. You're sorry. That makes everything better." She pointed furiously to the door, behind which Ash surmised was where Richie rested. "He trusted you, Ash Ketchum. We all did. And now look. Look at what happened."  
  
"I…" Ash felt a little indignant at the attack, but he knew he deserved every piece of it. "There was nothing-"  
  
"LOOK!" she shrieked, jabbing her finger again. Realizing her own volume, she forced herself to calm down, running a hand through her tussled blonde hair. "Because of you, Richie will never…never…" She felt her resolve slipping as tears fell from her eyes. She began to stumble back, catching herself against the wall to keep from falling as her tears began to fall once more.  
  
Ash wanted to wrap Dixie in his arms, to somehow promise her that everything was going to be all right. But when he reached for her, and she pulled back, he realized that he had lost that right…probably forever. "Dix…" he pleaded, pulling away slowly from her.  
  
"Just go." she whispered, choking back a sob. "He's waiting for you."  
  
Realizing that no more good would come from his presence, Ash slid around the sobbing wreck of his former girlfriend and slipped into the lounge. It was a simple enough room, but one of the more intact ones in the facility, as it had been on the opposite side of the building during the attack. Oak had decorated it with a few pieces of furniture, mostly easy chairs and couches. A fainting couch stood in the middle, with a large window past that overlooking the compound's free-range area. Normally teeming with Pokémon, the area beneath the window now only held puddles, debris, and darkness. As lightning flashed through the portal, Ash saw Richie's silhouette in the middle of the opening, black against the field of pure white.  
  
Richie twisted in his chair at the sound of the door, spotting Ash as he entered the room. "Hey!" he said brightly. Quickly, his arms found their way to the wheels at either side of his seat, working them with a grunt in opposite directions until his chair was facing the door. "I was wondering when you'd show up."  
  
"Richie…" Ash murmured. "Hey." He stumbled in, suddenly feeling as though his body were made of pudding as he somehow found his way to a seat near the other boy. "How…how are you doing?"  
  
Richie shrugged, and then winced, grasping his shoulder. "A little sore still, I guess. The doctors say the regen treatments took care of anything major, so thankfully there was no reason to keep me in that sick box."  
  
Ash frowned, clasping his hands together as he leaned forward. "That's…not what I meant." He gestured to the wheelchair, hoping to avoid dancing around the topic. "What's the final verdict?"  
  
His good humor vanished instantly in a deep sigh. "The doctors say I have a five percent chance of walking again." Richie admitted. "And that factors in medical advancements, as the current trend goes…or something." He saw Ash's face drop even further, and managed a weak smile. "Hey…so how do you like my new wheels?"  
  
Now it was Ash's turn to feel tears well up in the edges of his vision. "Oh man…Richie…I'm so sorr-"  
  
"Stop." Richie grew deadly serious as he leaned forward, planting his elbows on his now-useless legs and propping his chin on his hands. "Don't you dare pity me, or I swear to God I'll get out of this chair and kick the living crap out of you myself."  
  
Ash sniffed, managing a smile at Richie's candor. "Heh. It'd be worth it if you could." Suddenly, he felt stupid for saying such a thing, and slapped a hand over his forehead. "I'm sorry, Richie, I didn't mean…I mean…oh, God, I'm an idiot." He looked back at Richie, who wore an unreadable expression, waiting for Ash to say something. "This…this is all my fault." he said at last, sagging in his chair. "I don't know what to say, except sorry, and you don't want to hear that, so…"  
  
Richie studied Ash intently for a moment as the chosen of the Goddess fidgeted for a moment, tears silently sliding down his z-marred cheeks. Finally, Richie leaned back with his poker face still in place. "Look," he said, "I'll forgive you if you do me one favor."  
  
Ash looked up, wiping the tears from his face. "Anything." he said somberly.  
  
"For the love of God," Richie moaned, "Stop calling me Richie. It makes me sound like I'm ten or something. I'm fifteen…no, wait. Sixteen years old now." For a moment, Richie seemed angry. Then the façade broke, revealing a broad smile.  
  
Stuttering laughter escaped Ash, despite his best efforts to lock it down. He couldn't believe it, but there was no denying; Richie was back to his old self. Ash didn't know anyone else who could take such a loss as Richie had suffered in stride so well. He knew that he couldn't. "What should we call you, then?"  
  
The boy pondered it for a moment. "Rick." he decided at last with a nod. "I think Dixie's on to something with that 'Ricky' thing." Suddenly his face fell as his eyes were drawn to the door. "She's…not taking this well."  
  
"She blames me." Ash stated in a monotone. "So do I, frankly." He stared Richie's…Rick's demeanor for a moment, hesitating on his next question. "Why'd you do it?"  
  
"Do what?" He watched Ash stare at him for a moment longer before it clicked. "Ohhhh. That." It was his turn to look uncomfortable for a moment as he searched for the words to say. "Ash, I…I have to be honest. I didn't do it for you."  
  
"You didn't? Then…why?" Ash was confused.  
  
Rick frowned, leaning forward and casting his eyes down at his feet. "I escaped Missingno before Giselle hit me with the…well, you know." he blew out a breath, driving the memories further back until he was ready to deal with them. "I was whole…and I had learned quite a bit swimming around inside of the demon." He managed to look up at Ash for a moment, becoming deathly quiet. "He's still out there, you know."  
  
"Missingno?" Ash's jaw dropped as Rick nodded. "That's impossible."  
  
"No. It's not." Rick's head shook as his gaze returned to the floor. "After all that time inside of him, I think…I think a part of him is still in me, and a part of me is still in him. Not a lot, I don't think. I still feel like me. But…I can feel him." His eyes shone with fear and hatred as his voice grew bitter. "He's still alive somehow, and still whole…"  
  
"But…" Ash couldn't believe it. He thought they were rid of at least one of the demons, but this…It was almost too much for him to bear. "But that doesn't explain why-"  
  
"Ash, you're the Chosen One." Rick cut him off, looking up sharply into Ash's eyes with all the seriousness he had lacked before. "You're the one who has to save the world. Not Giselle, not me…It's you. I didn't save you for you, Ash. I saved you so you could save the world."  
  
Ash was silent, staring at Rick with wide-eyed fear. Richie had sacrificed almost everything for the world. What if Ash was ever asked to do the same? He hadn't been willing to let Misty go in exchange for the planet. What if a harder situation came up? What if…The possibilities scared him to death.  
  
Rick saw it in his eyes. "You finally get it." he said softly, nodding with approval. "Good. Oh, which reminds me…" Some of his natural excitement returned as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a couple of small, marble-sized Pokéballs. Without any preamble, he handed the pair to Ash with a small smile. "Here."  
  
"What's this?" Ash rolled the balls around on his palm, frowning at them curiously.  
  
Rick leaned back, folding his arms as he smiled with self-satisfaction. "Now you have the complete set. One Bird of Thunder, One of Ice, and…" he hesitated on the last one, "One Bird of Fire."  
  
His jaw dropped again. "Moltres? Zapdos?"  
  
"Giselle and I talked about it, and we both agreed that you could use them a lot more than we could."  
  
"I couldn't…I can't…!"  
  
"It's going to be a long fight, Ash." Rick told him, his seriousness returning. "The rest of us can help, but in the end, it'll be up to you. You can use any advantage you can get your hands on, so don't turn them away. They're yours."  
  
Ash was silent once more as he stared intently at the balls. Finally, he slipped them in his pocket, murmuring his gratitude. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." Rick's smile grew. "There. Was that so hard, accepting help?" Ash shook his head and chuckled, prompting Rick's response. "Good. You'll be getting more than you want from the rest of us. We'll beat this together, as much as we can." His wristwatch suddenly beeped, bringing with it a frown to his face. "Huh. You'd better get going." At Ash's questioning look, he elaborated, "In about two minutes, Dixie's going to come through that door to whisk me away to the hospital for some follow-up treatments, and other hoo-hah like that. My guess is, you aren't going to want to be in the same room with her for the next three thousand years or so."  
  
Ash couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah. Do me a favor? Take good care of her."  
  
"I think it'll be the other way around for a while." Rick assured him.  
  
"Thanks. For everything." Ash meant it, shaking Rick's hand as he stood to leave. "You know, for what it's worth," he said truthfully, "I think the Goddess should have picked you at Mount Moon. You would have been a better choice all the way."  
  
Rick shook his head. "There was never any choice."  
  
"Of course there was. You're twice the-"  
  
"No, Ash, you…" Rick trailed off, staring curiously at Ash. After a moment, his eyes went wide with realization. "Oh man, you don't know, do you? I'm surprised you didn't figure it out on your own."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ash," Rick said slowly, "Everything that Giselle told you when she was all-Missingno was true."  
  
Puzzled and lost, Ash scratched his head. "So?"  
  
"So?" Rick sighed, tapping his own cheek just below the eye. "Ash, that's no silly birthmark under your eye. That's the real deal; the Mark of Ashura. And for as long as I've known you," he added, "It's been sitting there on your ugly mug."  
  
"My…" Ash paled visibly as the pieces began to fall into place. Rick, Giselle…they had never been a part of it until the Goddess had brought them into it. But why? Why would the Goddess do such a horrible, cruel thing to someone completely innocent in the entire equation.  
  
There was no time to ponder on it as the door flew open, revealing a huffy blonde and an older man framing the doorway behind her. Dixie didn't even spare Ash a look as she walked in, informing Rick that they were going to be late if they didn't hurry. With one last look to bid Ash farewell, Rick allowed Dixie to wheel him out of the room without a fuss. Oak, in the meantime, approached the blanched boy still in the lounge questioningly.  
  
"Are you quite all right, Ash?" Oak asked.  
  
Ash's voice was little more than a whisper. "No." he breathed, staring off into space.  
  
Oak walked past him and leaned against the wall, looking out at his compound. The once-beautiful facility was in pieces now, and soggy from the constant downpour, but he knew it could not last. Soon enough, time and effort would mend the physical. The emotional, he reminded himself with a glance back at Ash, would take a bit longer. "Quite the time we've had, eh?"  
  
The boy swallowed hard, trying to find his voice. "I…I guess."  
  
A thought surfaced back to the top of Oak's mind after a moment of uncomfortable silence. He patted his lab jacket, feeling a reassuring lump at the pocket as he turned back to his young protégé. "Do you know what day it is, Ash?" he asked. Ash shook his head numbly. "If memory serves, you only have one day left to transfer your Pokémon to a licensed trainer."  
  
Hollowly, Ash looked up at Oak, feeling the very life drain out of him. He had forgotten all about the Indigo League's ridiculous ruling and his lost license in the midst of all the chaos. Now that it was back, and very real once again, he didn't know if he could deal with it. "You…you can take them, right?" he asked weakly. He felt his body fall into one of the armchairs, no longer listening to any of his commands. "Until I figure something out…Could you, Professor Oak?"  
  
"I could," he agreed with a nod. He sat down next to Ash, clearing his throat to get the boy's attention. Once he had that, he continued, "I want you to remember that I wholly advocate the rules and regulations of any and all leagues. They are there for the benefit of the Pokémon as well as the trainers, and I will never stand to see either human or Pokémon harmed because of anyone's inability to follow rules."  
  
"Professor," Ash frowned feebly, "What are you-"  
  
Oak pressed ahead, barreling through Ash's objections. "So you understand that, had I not been one hundred percent certain that you could pass the test on your own, I would have never done this." He began digging through his jacket pocket, seeking something elusive at the bottom.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"What I'm getting at, Ash," Oak growled, trying to get hold of something in his lab coat, "Is that, rather than transferring your Pokémon to me, you should transfer them to 'you'." With a flourish, he pulled a small wad of folded papers from his jacket, handing them to Ash with a small smile.  
  
Ash took the stack, seeing a glint of light reflected off of the top. He stared down at the laminated object with a mixture of awe and delight as he saw his picture on a small, rectangular card, along with a series of tiny text in three or four different languages. "Professor, is this for real?" he asked, feeling a small well of hope spring up within him.  
  
Oak nodded. "An international Trainer's License, fresh from the printings. I filled out the test for you myself, though you wouldn't have had any trouble with it. It is recognized all over the world, including," he added, "Pokémon Island. The license is completely valid, so Indigo League can't touch you."  
  
"Th-thank you." Ash stuttered, grateful beyond words. He felt himself lurch forward, capturing Oak in a hug that caught the old scientist off-guard for once. He patted Ash on the back as the boy found new tears, this time of happiness. Regardless of what the Indigo League thought, his little family was to remain intact, provided he didn't do anything to lose 'this' license. "Thank you." he said again.  
  
Their embrace ended as Ash pocketed the new license, a small smile finding its way through all the misery that Ash still felt. "So, Ash," Oak said awkwardly, "What will you do now?"  
  
Ash recalled Rick's ominous words with a heavy heart. The boy was right. In the end, it would come down to him and him alone. Missingno was still out there, somewhere, if Rick was to be believed. Add that to the other three demons yet to be discovered, and it painted an ugly mess waiting to be cleaned up. But Ash disagreed with Rick on one matter; No matter what, he wasn't going to let anyone else get caught in the crossfire of his next battle.  
  
A plan began to formulate in Ash's mind as he heard himself speaking to the Professor. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I can't stay here."  
  
***  
  
The second night after the battle was a restless one for Misty, just as the first had been. She suspected that the next would be just as bad, if not worse, for every time she closed her eyes and tried to drift off, the haunting, hellish visage of Missingno in his final moments screamed behind her eyelids. She had tried counting Mareep, drinking warm Miltank's milk…even asking Brock for a remedy. Brock, unfortunately, had his own demons to deal with; he and Delia had been unnaturally quiet since their rescue from the belly of the beast.  
  
She had tried to talk to Ash about her problems, hoping that he would know what to do. Ash always knew how to make her feel better. Back in their days on the island, before his insane badge-questing had begun, he had always been there for her. When her date to the junior Prom had stood her up, it was Ash that had traversed the distance between Pallet and Cerulean (on foot, no less) to show up on her arm, his tuxedo covered in twigs and leaves, but beaming nonetheless. She had shouted at him at the time, worried that he was going to embarrass her, but deep down she was truly thankful, and she was sure he knew it.  
  
But Ash had been even more distant than Brock or the elder Ketchum in recent times. Whereas the two victims would give her an encouraging smile, Ash would simply brood in the dark, as if he hadn't heard her at all. He had disappeared earlier that day, gone off to Professor Oak's to visit Richie, she supposed. When he had gotten back, he had simply gone up to his room, and could not be coaxed to even open his door for anyone. He hadn't said a word when Dixie had come to collect her things...but then again, neither had Dixie. Misty, who had been staying in Ash's room, had been forced to sleep in the guest room. Brock had offered to take the couch downstairs, claiming indifference, but she was grateful anyways.  
  
She desperately wished she could talk to Ash…comfort him, and be comforted in turn. The cold, hard truth was, she needed him. It wasn't a case of puppy love, nor was it the want of a friendly shoulder to cry on. She wasn't sure what it was; All she was certain of was that she needed Ash to be with her. Only then could things start to be all right.  
  
A sudden wave of sadness hit her, causing her to roll over. The numbers on the clock glared at her, depicting an hour not fit for any human being as she blinked numbly, half awake and half not. She didn't know why she suddenly felt sadder…It wasn't as if something new had occurred to her, some new way life had found to twist the screw even tighter into them. It was almost as if… Again, there was no explaining it, but she felt something…a person?....down on the floor below. Curiosity got the better of her as she armed herself with her Psyduck slippers, throwing a robe over her pajamas as she stalked out of the guest room.  
  
Her feet padded softly down the hard wooden steps as she tugged her robe more tightly about her taut shoulders, fighting off the monsoon's nightly chill that seeped into the house. The downstairs was murky, save for the flashes of lightning that blinked on and off in no discernable pattern. Brock's gentle snoring droned from the couch as his still form slept unseen. However, there was a different noise; a gentle creaking of floorboards, as if someone was treading softly amidst the darkness.  
  
Through the gloom, Misty thought she saw a brief flash of movement, and zeroed in quickly. She heard the footsteps freeze at the sound of her slippers slapping on the floor, and her suspicion grew. "Who's there?" she demanded in a hissing voice, feeling adrenaline pumping through her veins as she curled her fists.  
  
Lightning chanced to flash, giving Misty a brief moment of illumination. She saw a white face reflected in the blinding light, milky save for a pair of sharp zigzags beneath his luminous eyes. In that split instant, Misty saw the face go from worry to abject fear before winking back into the icy black void that had claimed the house in the night. Wasting no time, Misty stomped over to the nearest light switch, throwing it and bathing the front entryway in a soft, golden glow.  
  
"Misty…" Ash looked the proverbial child with his hand in the cookie jar as he stood there, helpless and discovered. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, quiet as a mouse until the lights were thrown. The Pokémon squeaked and blinked the spots in its eyes away as Ash backed up, fumbling with his backpack and poncho that were only half-donned.  
  
Misty frowned, confused. "Ash? What's going on?" She looked him up and down, eyeing his clothes. "Why are you dressed?" She watched his eyes flicker over to the table resting near the door. There, sitting in plain sight, was a small brown package that hadn't been there when she had gone to bed. He must have just placed it there. "What's that?" she demanded loudly, stalking over to the package.  
  
"Misty!" he shushed desperately, a pleading look in his features and mirrored in Pikachu's. But she would have none of it as she picked up the package and waved it in his face.  
  
"What is this? You're going out in the middle of the night?" she asked. Already, the three of them could hear Brock stirring on the couch, and thumping footsteps were coming from upstairs. In a moment, Brock's head poked up over the couch, mussed with sleep, as Delia came down the stairs in her robe.   
  
Immediately, Delia's concern overrode every other thought in her mind. "Honey, is everything okay? I heard shouting." she said, approaching her son uncertainly.   
  
Brock was slightly less coherent. "Muh?" he groaned, blinking one eye at a time against the relatively-bright light. "Wha'hoppen?"  
  
Misty's eyes switched back and forth between Ash's guilty face and the mysterious package he had left on the table. A single look into his deep, brooding eyes was all it took for the reality of the situation to finally dawn on her. "You were leaving…" Misty murmured. She felt the package slip between her numb fingers as the shock traveled to every part of her body, immobilizing her. "You were…you're…"  
  
"Ash…is this true?" Delia asked quietly. Her tone wasn't accusing, or angry; merely worried. "Honey, why would you leave in the middle of the night."  
  
"I…" He seemed lost for an answer, unable to fight against the interrogation in his own home. "I didn't…"  
  
Slowly, Delia bent down and retrieved the package from Misty's feet, turning it around in her hands. She discovered a small white envelope underneath, taped hastily to the bottom out of sight. "Ash," she looked at her son solemnly, "Is everything all right?"  
  
Misty was completely oblivious to everything. She didn't register as Brock found his way to his feet, stumbling over to join the circle. Delia's voice washed over her ears, unheard and unmissed as a thousand emotions welled up inside her, assaulting her soul from every side. "You…you were just going to leave…" she heard herself say from a great distance, as if someone else was in control of her body, and she was a mere observer.  
  
"Misty," Ash raised his hands pleadingly.  
  
She didn't hear him. "You were going to leave." she said again, this time more forcefully. As the torrent of emotions continued to beat against the shores of her inner self, the usual winner of the battle came forward, painting her vision a disturbing shade of red. "You were just going to leave," she said with a mixture of anger and disbelief, "In the middle of the night!"  
  
"I…I left a note." Ash pointed at the package as Brock and Delia stood back, a bit intimidated at the anger growing in Misty's features. "I-"  
  
"A note?" The disbelief in her voice vanished, replaced with a double-helping of rage that raised her voice to near-shrieking level. "A note?! Oh, well!" she threw her hands up in the air, nostrils flaring in disgust. "That just makes everything okay, doesn't it?"  
  
"Misty, I-"  
  
"You know what?" she whirled on him, shaking with anger. "Just go. I don't care anymore." She reached out before Delia could stop her, snatching the package and ripping the letter right off of it. She tossed aside the former, and ripped the latter clean in half, throwing the pieces at Ash. "After all we've been through together," she yelled as he flinched away from the paper projectiles, "After seven years of being together, side-by-side…After all we just WENT through, and you want to slip away without so much as a 'goodbye'? Fine. LEAVE!" she jabbed a finger at the door.  
  
Ash's own shock and shame quickly gave way to anger as Misty's words heated up his blood. "You're making this about you," he growled, feeling his fists clench at his side. "Not everything is about you, you know."  
  
The two began circling each other as the heated exchange escalated. Brock and Delia backed away, and even little Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder to stay clear of the fight. Ash and Misty hadn't had a full-blown argument in months, and the pent-up emotions were really starting to show. "Of course not!" Misty retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "How can it be about any of us, when it's always about YOU? You little, no-talent hack of a drama queen!"  
  
"You think you know everything!" Ash shot, his face dropping in a heavy scowl. "You must see a lot from always being on the sidelines. Makes it easier to criticize others. I guess you need a hobby when you don't DO anything with your life!"  
  
"Ash Ketchum!" Delia gasped in horror.  
  
Brock tried to get in between the two, but they wouldn't have any of it. "Uh, guys…"  
  
Their admonishments fell on deaf ears as Misty's eyes grew wide at the blow. "How DARE you!" she bellowed. "You wouldn't have gotten twelve steps outside of this crummy little village without me!"  
  
"I don't know how I've gotten so far WITH you!" Ash shouted just as loudly. "You little tagalong, redheaded reject of a trainer! The only reason you kept biting at my heels is because your family couldn't stand the sight of yo-"  
  
Misty's hand flashed like the lightning in the background as Ash crossed that proverbial line, striking him full on the mouth just as hard as she could. His head snapped around as she followed through, letting her hand drop to her side. "Don't you DARE talk to me li-"  
  
It was Misty's turn to be surprised as Ash's palm returned the favor, shutting her mouth with an open-handed blow that reeled her silent. She stopped, shocked, as she clutched her face, watching him heave and tremble before her. They had stopped their ridiculous circling, squaring off against one another with Ash's back to the door and Misty's to the stairs.  
  
Without even thinking about it, Misty's hand lashed out again in a vicious backhand, striking his cheekbone and knocking him back a few paces. He took the blow in stride, his hand not even rising to his face to rub the wound. Instead, he wasted no time in striking back, once again matching her blow for blow. Misty felt his knuckle belt her in the cheek, drawing a coppery taste to her mouth that drew her lips into a bitter sneer.  
  
A quiet rumble began deep within Misty as Brock, Delia and Pikachu watched the proceedings in horror. That low growl soon grew into a full-fledged roar as Misty leapt forward, catching Ash at the waist in a full tackle that knocked the both of them through the door and out onto the porch. Together, the two tumbled out into the rain, wrestling and struggling against each other, ignoring the shouts of their elders.  
  
Fists flashed and kicks flew as the two teens fought, using the sporadic lightning as their guide. There were no words exchanged or mercies offered, only the sound of flesh and bone striking, grunts of pain, and roars of anger. Neither one was sure how it had come to this, or why. They had never fought like this before. They both knew, though, that it was the other's fault that they felt such pain, and that they would pay for it.  
  
Misty managed to tag Ash good across the face, catching him right in the eye. He stumbled back as she pressed her attack, but was too hasty and careless. One of Ash's flailing arms knocked her in the cheek, deflecting her charge long enough for Ash to regain his balance. His foot caught her square in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her and shoving her back onto the muddy grass on the front lawn. She saw a dark shape sail through the air as she struggled to breath, and brought her own feet up just in time to push Ash away from her. He fell to the ground as well, landing in a gigantic puddle of mud and water.  
  
Furious, Misty crawled forward and tried to pin Ash to the ground, raining blows down on his face and chest. Her voice screamed with each blow, ancient instincts flaring to life in the primal struggle. She heard voices shout distantly, but ignored them. None of it mattered anymore. None of it.  
  
Ash's hands shot up from the muck, grabbing hold of her shoulders and pinning her arms to her side with uncanny strength. She struggled, but was helpless as he rolled the both of them across the mud and slurry, covering the both of them with indescribable filth. Dizzy and helpless, Misty could only watch as Ash finally halted, straddling her waist and pinning her hands painfully with his knees as he knelt above her.  
  
His shoulders heaved with raspy breath as he leaned over her, bracing the ground with one hand as his other drew back to pummel her unprotected face. As he loomed above her, shielding her from the rain, he finally noticed the stream of tears leaking from her eyes. Waves of pain washed over his soul, and Ash couldn't be certain if they were his, or hers. Large, fat droplets began raining down on Misty's face, and for the first time since the fight had started, Ash realized that he was crying too.  
  
He almost didn't register it when a pair of large hands grabbed him roughly by the scruff of his neck, dragging him forcefully off of Misty. Brock held him by his collar, looking at the pair of them with disgust as he bent down and hauled the other to her feet as well. "That's enough!" he roared. Though it was hardly necessary, as neither was putting up any fight, his powerful arms dragged them both back into the house. There, Delia waited, horror painted on her face as she held the squirming, squawking Pikachu protectively in her arms.  
  
"Brock, what-" Delia tried to interject, but Brock stalked right past her, leaving a trail of mud and water as he dragged them through the house. She followed quickly, watching him kick open the door to her study and toss both of the shivering, filthy teens into the room.  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into both of you," he told them darkly, "And I don't give a crap. You're not coming out until you've worked this out." He watched them start to protest, then slammed the door in their faces. His long reach snagged a rogue chair, and he propped it beneath the knob, effectively trapping the pair.  
  
Delia quickly reached the young man, looking with concern at the door to her quiet reading room. "Brock…" she said softly, touching the burly trainer on the shoulder.  
  
He seemed to snap out of his anger in an instant at her touch. "Sorry about the mess," he said sadly. "I'll clean it up later." He looked back at the room, shaking his head sadly. "I don't know where that came from…" he sighed. "They haven't fought like that since…well, ever!"  
  
"Brock," Delia tried again, but there seemed no reaching him.  
  
"I mean, I know they've been kinda touchy around each other," he remarked, "But I never would have guessed…"  
  
"Brock!"  
  
"What?" he asked, tilting his head at her sudden urgency. The situation was under control as far as he was concerned. "What is it?"  
  
She seemed slightly chagrined as she said, "There's a window in that room."  
  
Brock considered the new information for a moment. Then he tore the chair away from the door and threw it open. Inside the room, Misty was curled up in a little ball, leaning up against a chair as she sobbed uncontrollably into her hands. At the far end of the room, a pair of curtains flapped as droplets of rain flew in through the open window, splattering against the wooden floor.  
  
"Oh…" was all he could think to say.  
  
***  
  
Ash stumbled blindly through the rain, not sure of where he was going and not caring anymore. His entire body was one big ache, and his left eye was slowly swelling shut, effectively blinding him on one side. He couldn't recall ever being this miserable before in his life, but he was certain that he deserved it.  
  
He had hit Misty. He couldn't believe it.  
  
Oh sure, there had been plenty of fights between the two that had dissolved into blows over the years. He had taken his lumps, and given Misty her own share in return. But a full-out knock-down brawl? Never. He had never wanted to hurt Misty…just like he had never wanted to hurt Dixie…or Richie…or any of them.  
  
'That's why it's for the best,' he told himself silently, slogging aimlessly. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking; his head hurt too much to experience the passage of time. It felt like he had been hurting forever. He had somehow come across the forests on the edge of town, and was tripping and traipsing over stray roots and puddles on a path that seemed uncannily familiar.  
  
Lightning flashed all around him as the scream of thunder echoed, roaring at him, laughing at him, from every direction. The trees loomed all about him, casting long shadows in the dark night, making it hard to see. Furious, he screamed back at the heavens, but they simply drowned him out. Looking up at the sky, he missed his footing and snagged a downed branch, stumbling face-first into a patch of mud.  
  
The grit seeped into his teeth as he pulled himself up, exhausted and aching, but fueled with an inner fury. "What do you want from me?" he screamed at the skies, peeling the mud from his face and flinging it aside. He threw his arms open to the pouring, thunderous heavens. "WHAT?"  
  
Their only response was to throw more lightning and thunder, drowning out his furious roar. He staggered to his feet, stepping blindly ahead as he continued to shout obscenities at the gods themselves. He cursed their names, he cursed his fate, and everything else he could think of that was unjust in the world. Eventually, he came to a small clearing with a rolling hill before him. Beyond that, he could hear the sound of roaring waters. The spot seemed to jog something in his memory, but he couldn't place what.  
  
"You've taken everything from me!" Ash screamed. He tore his hat and jacket from his body, flinging them aside as he lurched up the sloping hill. His muddy black T-shirt clung weightily to his body, soaked and caked beyond all recognition much like Ash himself. Before he knew it, he had reached the crest of the hill, and stopped just before tumbling over the edge. Below him was a babbling brook, obviously gorged on the unseasonable monsoon. It was now a roaring river, gushing with lethal force in its murky waters.  
  
Suddenly, it came to Ash. This was where it had all started. It was the exact spot where he had met…  
  
"Misty." the word escaped his grimy lips as he fell to his knees, collapsing in a heap. Wrist-deep in mud, sobbing with despair, Ash was lost to the storm and the raging river. A cold, black mist seeped in from the forest as he wept, rolling in ominously beneath the boy's notice.  
  
***  
  
Brock approached Misty cautiously, wielding the most potent weapon he could think to carry to help combat her dark mood; a cup of hot chocolate. She had cleaned up a little, which made her appear slightly better on the outside. Inside, he knew she was still a mess. She sat on the couch, eyes glazed over as she stared off into space with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "Hey," he said softly as he approached.  
  
"Hey." She accepted the drink from him, taking a long drag of the cocoa. A tiny, almost invisible smile haunted her lips for a moment as he sat down next to her. "Thanks."  
  
"You okay?"  
  
She clutched the drink as her eyes drifted off into space once more. "I'm so far from 'okay', I can't even see it anymore." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Sorry I flipped out."  
  
"I know." he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. "You wanna talk?"  
  
She was silent for a moment as she considered his offer. "Why did he leave like that?" she asked at last. "He knew we would have gone with him, no matter where it was."  
  
"Maybe he thought it was for the best." Brock offered.  
  
At last, she turned to look at him. There was no mistaking the hurt in her eyes. "But why?"  
  
Brock pondered the question carefully, seemingly torn. Finally, he admitted, "I put the letter back together." He saw her features fall as she returned to staring at nothing. "He didn't want us getting hurt." The comment garnered no response from her, so he decided to press further. "There…there was a lot about you."  
  
"What was in the package?" she asked.  
  
That brought a smile to the burly trainer's lips. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a long chain. Hanging on the end of the line was a tiny, shining bauble in the shape of a teardrop. Misty recognized it instantly, and let out a small gasp as he handed it to her. She looked at him questioningly, letting the hanging trinket dangle in front of her eyes. He reached into his shirt in response, pulling out a chain of his own, with its own bauble on the end. This one was octagonal and brown, with a dull sheen about it.  
  
"These are…"   
  
Misty was at a loss for words, so Brock finished the thought for her. "They're our badges. The ones he won from us, anyway."  
  
To Misty, the gesture was of incredible importance: Ash's badges meant more to him than anything, especially his original eight, the ones he had won to compete in the Indigo League. For him to simply give them back… "I don't understand."  
  
"Sure you do." Brock assured her. "Oh. I almost forgot. He said he also left something for you in the garage."  
  
She struggled to find her voice. "Wha…What is it?"  
  
"He said you'll know it when you see it." Brock smiled to himself, putting the badge back into his shirt.  
  
"Brock…" Misty turned, leaning towards her lifelong friend as she clutched his hands. "Brock, what did Ash say in his letter?"  
  
His answer was patently Brock; enigmatic, but clear. "You should go ask him yourself."  
  
Wordlessly, Misty rose from her seat, walking towards the garage door. Her steps were slow and clumsy at first, but she quickly gained momentum until she was almost at a full run. The door barely opened in time for her to slip through unharmed, and she scrabbled desperately for the light switch. As soon as she found it, her breath was stolen once more.  
  
There, in the barren garage, stood a shimmering vision in crystal blue paint. It possessed sturdy mountain tires, with fenders of pure crimson. A plastic Staryu graced the front, mounted on the handlebars to complete the motif. The kickstand kept it in place as Misty reached forward, running her hand over it as if to confirm that it actually existed. She had nearly forgotten…But apparently, Ash never had.  
  
"A bike." she whispered, eyes gleaming with fresh tears. It was an even more powerful gesture than the badge had been. Ash had finally made good on his promise, a promise that had originally spurred Misty into following the shaggy, unkempt trainer across the island for half a decade.   
  
However, the message was not a happy one to her. "He…he's not coming back." she heard herself say. With the last loose ends tied between them, what would bring Ash back to her? It was stupid to feel that way, but they were her feelings, and she couldn't ignore them. "He's not coming back!"  
  
Brock smiled once more as he heard the garage door opening. He reached for Misty's cocoa, barely touched, and proceeded to down most of it. Delia approached from behind, cradling a sleepy Pikachu in her arms as she cocked her head. "Brock," she asked, "What on Earth was that? It sounded like-"  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it." Brock assured her, finishing off the mug. "Sounds about right to me."  
  
***  
  
Misty's legs pumped furiously on the pedals, her feet slipping every so often against the hard plastic that bit into her skin. Rain pelted against her face, but she ignored the pain and cold as she huffed up hill after hill, traveling along a series of muddy paths. The gears transitioned smoothly, and her tires had no trouble even in the slickest of spots. Despite herself, she couldn't help but notice that Ash had gotten her a really great bike.  
  
'This is insane.' she told herself silently. 'Ash could have gone anywhere, and it's been almost an hour since he left. You'll never find him.' Then she thought of him out there, alone in the rain, with nowhere to go and probably still hurting as much as she was, and she summarily told the voice in her head to go to hell. The despair she had felt now fueled her onward, keeping her warm as her flimsy pajamas soaked and her hair matted down into her eyes.  
  
She had to find Ash.  
  
She pressed on into the night, not sure of where she was going. And yet, something pulled her in the direction of the forest to the north. The area felt a little familiar to her, but she wasn't too surprised. After all, she had spent some time near the Viridian Forests when she had been just a child. That was where she had met…  
  
"Ash!" she called out. Without knowing how, she knew where he would be.  
  
***  
  
Ash felt lost as he cried himself out. His last choked sobs racked from his throat as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, coughing up water. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." he said quietly. "I left to keep them safe. Just like you wanted…" He wasn't sure if the Goddess could hear him. He doubted it, though. There was no one left…not even Pikachu. And it was his fault. "I did like you wanted…" he insisted again to his silent companion. "It's just me, just like destiny said.  
  
Thunder was his only answer.  
  
"I've accepted my place." he said again. The cold mist that had seeped in from the forest now permeated the area, hanging like a low cloud of despair as he looked up into the sky. Ash's voice was stronger now, but still eerily calm. "You win. I'll fight evil. Just…just tell me what I have to do."  
  
Again, there was no answer, save for the tremulous roar of the storm.  
  
Somehow, it was the last straw. "WHAT?" he screamed, struggling to his feet. "Is that not GOOD enough for you? I gave it all UP!" He faced the sky, throwing his arms about as his voice carried off into the night. "I don't have anything left! Nothing except these!" he ripped his jacket open, pointing to his treasured Indigo badges pinned to the inside. There were two noticeable absences that made his heart ache even worse.   
  
Enraged, he tore the jacket from his shoulders and threw it onto the ground in a heap. "THERE! THAT'S THE LAST OF IT!" he told the sky. "You have it all now! Tell me what to do!" The storm roared, answerless, heedless to the boy who would be a savior. "TELL ME!" he demanded, "ANSWER ME! SMITE ME! ANYTHING! JUST…" he trailed off, feeling drained. He fell to his knees, splattering even more mud onto himself as he hugged his arms to his chest. "Just tell me what I should do." His voice was barely a whisper now as he felt despair winning the battle inside of him. "Give me a sign."  
  
"ASH!"  
  
The sudden cry caused him to whirl as he saw a dark shape streak into the clearing from the forest behind him. It parted the mist as it sped towards him, chasing away the murky cloud with its spinning wheels.   
  
"Misty?" Ash whispered, confused at first. Then he leapt up, rushing towards the shape. "Misty!" he cried.  
  
The shape skidded to a halt, tossing aside its wheels as it morphed into a distinctly feminine form that rushed into Ash's open arms, knocking him to the ground. "Ash!" Misty sobbed with relief, burying her face into the nape of his neck as they sat up together, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Oh, thank God I found you."  
  
"How did you…" Ash trailed off as he heard her sniffling into his chest. He felt a wave of relief and pure, unconditional love overpowering him, wiping away all the gloom as he stroked her limp black hair. The Goddess' ominous warnings about saving Misty's life suddenly made sense to him. He wasn't connected to her soul any more than she was connected to his. They no longer 'had' individual spirits anymore… They were one, heart and soul. And with a sinking feeling, Ash now realized that whatever happened to him, Misty would forever be a part of it: a blessing for him, but a curse for her.  
  
"Ash," Misty looked into Ash's eyes, ignoring the pounding rain that masked her tears. She took his face in her hands, wiping away the mud that obscured his features. "Ash, I was so worried that you were gone…There's so much I have…want to tell you."  
  
Looking into Misty's soul…his soul…Ash felt lost. His heart ached at the thought of causing her any pain, but that was exactly what he had brought her, and it would be the only thing he would continue to bring. Had he saved her…or merely cursed her. "Like…like what?" he murmured, afraid of the answer.  
  
"It can wait." she smiled, renewing the embrace they shared. "Not now. Just…just don't go yet."  
  
Ash obliged acceptingly, and held the woman he loved without question or word.  
  
***  
  
"You're sure about this."  
  
Misty smiled at the question, looking at Ash with devilish eyes. It had been a full day since she had found him in the rain, but he still looked terrible. His eye wasn't quite as swollen anymore, but he did have a beautiful shiner that was already shifting through every color she could imagine. Of course, with a split lip and an enormous bruise on her cheek, Misty knew she looked little better. "Stop asking that." she laughed lightly. "Of course I'm sure."  
  
They stood once again on the hilltop where they had first met. Pikachu stood some distance away at Misty's request as the pair overlooked the swollen brook. The gorgeous (and expensive) bike that Ash had gotten Misty rested between them, kept right by a hand from each of the teens. And miraculously, for the first time the entire week, the rain had mercifully ceased. Dark clouds hung above them, but remained silent for the moment. They were both very grateful for it, for both had a long day ahead of them.  
  
"Okay…if you're sure." Ash stared down into the murky, muddy water that moved beneath them. His heart still ached slightly from the morning's goodbyes, but it wasn't so bad; he knew he would see his mother and Brock again. The big lug had given Ash a huge hug, and whispered some advice in his ear before starting on the long road back to Pewter City; 'Don't disappoint her,' he had warned with a smile, 'Or you'll end up answering to me.'  
  
"I'm more worried about you." Misty suddenly sounded concerned. She ran a hand through her short, still-black hair as she glanced back at Ash. "Are 'you' sure?"  
  
He knew what she was asking about, and he nodded glumly. "Yeah. Don't ask me why, but…yeah. I…I have to go solo on this one, at least for a while."  
  
She sighed. "You know I'd come with you, if you wanted me to. All you have to do is say the word."  
  
"There's nothing I'd like more." He turned, leaning against the bike. It was like he was seeing her for the first time again. There had been distractions and detours along the way, a few pitfalls and some setbacks, but in the end he knew without a doubt that he had more than one destiny, and one of them was standing right next to him. It was criminal that the other was forcing him away from her. "There's a lot I'd like to say…" he admitted.  
  
"But?"  
  
He took her words from the other day, knowing that, no matter how much he wanted to explore 'that', it just couldn't be…yet. "Not now," he said sadly. "It isn't the right time."  
  
She nodded. "Well then, we'd better get on with it." She pointed back down to the water, grinning suddenly. "On the count of three. One…"  
  
"Two…"  
  
"Three." They said the last number together, and both pushed. Misty's beautiful new bike tumbled down the embankment, crashing against a number of large, nasty rocks before falling into the muddy water, disappearing beneath the quick current.  
  
"There." Misty folded her arms, nodding with satisfaction at the ruins as they sunk out of sight. She turned back to her friend, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "You owe me a bike, Ash Ketchum."  
  
He smiled, taking hold of her hand. His fingers intertwined with hers as they both stared at each other, smiling and suddenly giddy. "I'll make good on it someday." he promised her.  
  
Misty's fingers gently squeezed his hand as the humor left her face. Her expression became one of longing as she drew in close, pressing their hands to her chest. "I won't wait forever, you know." she told him, taking his hand and pressing it to her cheek.  
  
"You won't?"   
  
"No." she shook her head, closing her eyes as she felt his skin against hers. "But I will give you until a day before that."  
  
He couldn't help but smile as he caressed her cheek. He could feel himself drawing in closer to her, and felt powerless to stop it, even if he had wanted to. "Then expect a call one day shy of forever." he joked softly.  
  
Her face loomed in his vision as she reached up, pulling him closer. "You'd better be sooner than that." she murmured. After that, there were no words as their lips pressed together lightly. It was a short, gentle kiss, but it conveyed everything they couldn't say; passion, friendship, trust, and love without condition.  
  
They broke apart, whispering farewell as Misty backed away slowly. She gave him one last smile and a wave as she turned and headed up the trail, toting a small bag with enough supplies to see her back to Cerulean City. There was no long, tearful goodbye, simply because they knew it wasn't goodbye. It was just going to be a matter of time.  
  
Ash sighed wistfully as Misty's sauntering form vanished into the dark woods. He felt Pikachu tugging at his pant leg, and hefted the Pokémon up to his shoulder. "So, Pikachu," he asked his partner, "Where should we go now?"  
  
A sudden applause caught his attention. Swinging around, Ash wasn't entirely surprised to see a familiar dark shape sitting idly on a tree branch at the edge of the clearing. "Not bad," the figure called as he hopped down, landing gracefully without effort. "Not bad at all."  
  
"Solo." Ash greeted the man humorlessly, folding his arms. "Somehow I figured you'd show up."  
  
"What can I say?" Solo asked, smiling beneath his featureless mask. "You put on a good show. Oh, nice work with the Demon there. I didn't think you had that kind of control over your power yet."  
  
Ash frowned, exchanging glances with Pikachu. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Solo leaned in, his voice growing low. "During the battle, did you feel anything strange? Either of you?" he asked Pikachu as well, looking between the two. "A bond. A connection. Something?"  
  
"Yeah." Ash and Pikachu both nodded, remembering the strange feeling that had overcome them both during Pikachu's ultimate Flash. "How'd you…?"  
  
"That," Solo said pointedly, "Is your power. That's the power of all Disciples. Don't you get it?"  
  
"No. Sorry." Ash said dryly.  
  
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Solo asked with a touch of exasperation. "Look; you're the bridge between human and Pokémon. When you need to, when you need them and they need you, your spirit becomes theirs. Your power, your strength, is given to them."  
  
"You mean…When Pikachu…" Ash was having trouble believing it, but there was no other explanation for his partner's sudden power-boost readily at hand. "And earlier…"  
  
"All the way back at Bluster. You could feel what they feel, but you hadn't quite gotten the hang of it. You still don't, from the sounds of it." Solo sounded bemused at Ash's shortcomings, but the mask made it hard to be sure.  
  
"I'll be sure to practice." Ash shot back, but there was a small smirk on his lips.  
  
"So…What are you going to do now?"  
  
"Dunno." Ash admitted with a shrug that nearly threw Pikachu. "I guess I'll go work on this 'Goddess-Power' thing of yours. Maybe see if I can find the other three demons." 'And Missingno,' he added silently, 'Or whatever's left of him.' Though he was loathe to believe it, Richie…'Rick', he had to remind himself…Was the one person who probably knew Missingno better than he did.  
  
Despite all the surprise that had hit Ash over the last couple days, Solo's next words truly floored him. "Why don't you hang with me?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
"What?" Ash looked him up and down, as if the man had suddenly grown Stantler horns. "Me? With you? You're joking."  
  
"If I were joking," Solo assured him, "I would have made fun of the way you dress."  
  
Ash tugged indignantly on the bill of his hat, bristling at the dig. "Why should I?"  
  
"Frankly, you could use the help." Solo told him.  
  
"I don't need your help." Ash told him sharply.  
  
"Your father said the same thing."  
  
Ash seemed to study the man. He recalled Solo dropping his father's name before. "You really knew my father?"  
  
"I have a lot of stories, kid…ones you'd probably love to hear." All of the conceit dropped from Solo's voice as he extended his hand, waiting expectantly. "I can help. Please."  
  
It was a big chance to take…but Ash was nothing if not a risk-taker. He took Solo's hand without regret, pumping it once. "Done. On one condition…" he added, looking at Solo with deadly seriousness. "You tell me everything you know about this Disciple business."  
  
"Deal." Solo smiled beneath the fabric of his face, throwing an arm around Ash's empty shoulder. "You won't regret it, Kid. I mean, it's no good to be alone, especially with a job like yours."  
  
Ash cast one last look back in the direction Misty had gone. Despite her absence, he could still feel her, just as he knew she could feel him. 'But I'm not alone…' he said silently. Smiling, he allowed Solo to lead him off along the road as the older mercenary began to prattle on about training and history, and a thousand other things. Though much was uncertain, Ash knew two things; His friends would always be there for him, through thick and thin. And life, ever-changing though it was, had just taken a major twist. Things would never be the same again.  
  
***  
  
"Ready?" Jessie stalked behind a pile of pylons stacked near Oak's injured facility, leading her companions in a silent stalking as they neared the entrance. There were a few construction workers milling about, but nothing that would interfere with their latest operation.  
  
James nodded behind her, careful not to get mud on his pristine Team Rocket uniform. He and Meowth knelt next to her, concealed by the supplies that would help repair the enormous lab compound. "Just say the word, Jessie."  
  
Footsteps accompanied a whistling voice as both grew louder, drawing closer to their position. "Okay, someone's coming." she said. She tilted her head, listening as a craggy voice began half-humming, half-singing an old tune. "It sounds like the old man."  
  
"Da twerps are sure to be wit' 'im!" Meowth exclaimed gleefully, rubbing his paws together.  
  
"All right…" Jessie held them back with a raised hand, waiting for the right moment. She heard Oak's musical voice grow closer and closer. "Okay…GO!"  
  
Together, the three Rockets burst from their hiding spot, startling the aging scientist as they skidded out in front of him. Meowth tossed a couple of smoke bombs in front of them, creating a haze of red and black mist that masked their entrance a few seconds too late.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie called out.  
  
James joined in, though he barely kept his balance on the slick mud underfoot. "To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
  
"To denounce…" Jessie trailed off as she noticed Oak standing by himself, waving the air in front of his face with a large clipboard as he coughed lightly. "Hey!"  
  
James' voice ground to a halt as well as he noticed the absence of the terrible trio and their power-packed Pikachu. "Wait a minute…" he drawled slowly, looking about. "Where're the twerps?"  
  
"I'm afraid you three are a little late…" Oak hacked a few more times as the smoke dissipated. Once his lungs were clear, he managed a look of slight amusement. "Ash, Brock, and Misty have all left…and just in time to duck out of helping around here, as usual." he added ruefully, looking down at his clipboard.  
  
"Aw, man!" Meowth kicked a clump of mud as Jessie and James slumped onto a large cement pipe awaiting placement. "Dis is just great!"  
  
"I can't believe we missed them." James sighed, cradling his chin in his hands as he leaned forward. "We haven't had a good battle in weeks!"  
  
"Just our luck," Jessie agreed.  
  
Oak eyed the three depressed desperadoes with a gleam in his eye as he checked over his work schedule on the clipboard again. "Well," he told them, "If you three don't have anything better to do, we 'are' a little shorthanded around here."  
  
"Work?" Jessie spat the word with disgust.  
  
"For you?" James added incredulously.  
  
Meowth shook his enormous head, folding his paws across his tiny chest. "Dat's insane!"  
  
"There'd be free lunches in it for all of you."  
  
The three of them exchanged surprised, curious looks. "Huddle!" Jessie cried, drawing her cohorts into a brief discussion that ended with a unified nod. As they pulled away and lined up, Jessie graced Oak with a charming smile. "We've decided to reluctantly accept." she told him happily.  
  
"Provided there's coffee included with lunch." James added hastily, mouth watering.  
  
The aging professor nodded, smiling at their enthusiasm. "Hard hats are over there." he pointed. "Check in with the foreman. Lunch is in two hours."  
  
Jessie and James clapped hands gleefully as Oak strode off to inspect another part of the lab's reconstruction. "Did you hear that?" Jessie squealed.  
  
"Free food!" Meowth danced about, pirouetting joyfully.  
  
"And coffee!" James joined in, swinging Meowth about by the arms as the two danced in the mud.  
  
Oak's voice soon brought a halt to the scene. "I don't hear working…" he called back over his shoulder.  
  
"Right! Sorry!" Hurriedly, the three took off for the work shed. Sure, they had failed to capture Pikachu…but at least they'd get a meal out of it for once! Plus, no demons had tried to eat them this time around. Could life get any better?  
  
"Looks like Team Rocket's cleaning up again!"  
  
=The End=  
  
-Author's Hindsight-  
  
That was a long one, huh? Woo! It was fun writing, though I doubt I'll ever do that 'updating in bits' thing again. That was a little choppy, and encouraged me to take even longer on the project. In the end, though, I'm satisfied with the way things turned out, and I hope you are, too. After all, this is the last episode of BadgeQuest ever. I've had a blast writing it, and I hope you've had just as much fun reading it. So, from NetGhost Studios, this is Cyberwraith Nine saying farewell to all the BadgeQuest fans out there. Sayonara!  
  
Psyche!  
  
You thought I was done? I'm NEVER gonna be done. Hold on to your hats, folks, because we have a lot more on the way. Coming this summer to a fanfiction site near you…  
  
BADGEQUEST: THE MOVIE  
  
If you think I'm kidding, just keep your eyes peeled. The best is yet to come! 


End file.
